Things are changing
by allconspirer
Summary: Set during a championship, things are falling apart in the stadium and out. MariahRay, KaiHil, Rated M for a few limes later in the story. Sequel now up!
1. Blade Breakers Babysitting

And she is back! Yes allconspirer is back with another rotten attempt at fan fiction!

It's another KaiHil sorry but I love this couple it reminds me of two of my friends (they are a couple), there is also a little TyHil coming up but it's not a lot. This has nothing to do with my other fic, it's set a few years after BEGA as you can guess when from their ages.

I have changed a few of the facts to fit in with how I want things to be but it's still pretty much the same characters

I won't be able to update as often as I did last time but please don't get upset with me. It's exam time and I'm working a lot!

And here we go again!

I do not own Beyblade!

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Hiro -26

Kai -20

Ray -19

Tyson -18

Kenny -18

Max -18

Hilary -17

Daichi -15

OC'S

Arelam Granger - 24 - Hiro's wife

Robin Granger - 11 months - Hiro's son

There will be more OC's sorry if they're a bit 2d I am not too good at inventing characters.

* * *

Hiro stood watching as Tyson struggled with the wailing baby, he was beginning to regret asking his little brother to baby-sit his son. Tyson had very little experience with babies but there was no one else to ask. Grandpa was out of the country and his wife's family all lived too far away to baby-sit while he and his wife went out to dinner.

"Hiro, maybe we shouldn't go" Arelam slipped her arm through his, she was watching Tyson as well, she didn't feel too happy about this!

"Arelam it's very important I go to this dinner" Hiro explained "Mr Dickenson needs me to be there to meet people"

"But I could stay" Arelam wasn't sure what to do, this was the first time in ages that she and Hiro had the chance to go out since Robin had been born. She was dressed in her favourite dress and had just had her hair newly cut and styled. She was wearing jewellery that she wouldn't normally wear because her son would pull on it, this was the most dressed up she had been in ages. Next to her Hiro sighed he wanted her to come, she looked stunning and the dinner was a very dull work affair and without her he would be bored to tears!

"Leave him with us" Tyson yelled over the baby's noise "we can handle it, right guys?" Ray, Max, Kenny, Daichi and Kai didn't look too sure about this statement.

"I don't know" Ray whispered to Max and Kai "I think I'd rather be up against Crusher than do this"

"Besides" Tyson continued "I already called for re-enforcements!"

"Called for re-enforcements? This is looking after a child, **your nephew** not going into battle" Arelam looked angry

"I'm not so sure about that" Max whispered to the others who nodded in agreement

Hiro stood indecisively torn between wanting to protect his firstborn from Tyson's ministrations and protecting Tyson from his very angry wife. If it hadn't been for the voice behind him things could have gotten ugly.

"Well whatever this is army training or babysitting, the cavalry is here" Hilary stood in the doorway smiling at Tyson's apparent inability to hold a baby correctly. She was dressed in a low cut black top, short white skirt and black stilettos her uniform for the restaurant where she was currently working.

"Hilary" Tyson sighed "just in time. Help!" Hilary laughed at this and walked over to Tyson and expertly took Robin into her arms.

"Oh poor boy, was he being mean to you?"

"Yes!"

"I was talking to the baby Tyson,"

"I knew that" Tyson shrugged, ignoring the laughter coming from his team mates. He pulled off his cap and scratched his head glaring at his nephew, "I was just answering for him!"

"Right" Hilary smiled and holding Robin close comforted the crying child, she rocked him gently crooning over him and soon the cries became intermittent hiccups as the exhausted boy lay comfortably in Hilary's arms.

"You can go now Hiro" Hilary looked over at the couple who stood still hovering uncertainly by the door "We can manage."

"Right" Hiro smiled at the young girl in front of him "well nappies are in the bag, there's a couple of bottles ready in the kitchen they just need hea…"

"Hiro" Hilary interrupted him "don't worry, I got this. I know what I'm doing"

"Right!"

Arelam continued to watch her son closely, she rifled through her bag and pulled out a peice of paper "Here's the phone number of the restaurant, our mobiles will be off so if anything happens call this number. His nightclothes are with his nappies, he needs to be in bed by at least 9 and if…"

"Arelam?" Hilary interrupted the concerned mother

"Yeah"

"Like I said, I can do this, I have loads of nieces and nephews and I baby-sit for them all the time."

"Right, well…. I guess we can go" Arelam smiled and bidding everyone else goodbye the two parents finally left.

Hilary sat on the couch with little Robin and began to play with him, she had his favourite teddy in her free hand and was making the bear dance around. Ray and Max began to pull out various DVDs arguing quietly over which one to watch. Tyson allowed Daichi to pull him outside for practice, Kenny sat as usual staring at his computer screen oblivious to the world around him. Kai stood leaning up against the wall silent and with his eyes half closed.

00000

"Ew something smells!" Tyson and Daichi had finished their practice and had come back inside to watch the chosen DVD. Hilary grinned and lifting Robin sniffed gingerly,

"It's just Robin Ty, he needs his diaper changed, where's that bag?" Hilary got no response and looking up she noticed that Tyson and Daichi were sitting with Ray and Max totally absorbed in the film. Sighing heavily Hilary stood,

"Here!" Hilary turned and was surprised to see Kai standing at her side holding out the changing bag.

"Thanks Kai um…" Hilary tried to shift robin so that she could take the bag but he had taken a chunk of her hair to play with and moving him was tricky.

Kai watched her struggling and not saying a word he turned and walked away from her still carrying the bag, confused Hilary could only follow. Kai led Hilary into Tyson's bedroom and taking the mat from the bag laid it out on Tyson floor.

"Thanks Kai" Hilary said gratefully Kai said nothing but stood in the room waiting to see if she needed any more help, it annoyed him that Tyson had just shifted all the responsibility onto Hilary. Kai knew that she would have gone straight to work after school and the last thing she had probably wanted to do was come here and look after some baby.

"Ugh" Hilary made a noise of disgust as she opened up the messy nappy, Kai wrinkled up his nose as the unpleasant odour reached him. He continued to stand eyes half closed after a little while he heard Hilary say "there all done" Looking down he was surprised at how quickly Hilary had cleaned up the boy and put him in his nightclothes ready for bed.

"Right lets get you settled" Hilary stood clutching the baby to her, "um Kai?"

Kai looked at Hilary saying nothing, Hilary knew that this was his way of responding so she continued "Could you hold him? Just for a second while I tidy up." Hilary didn't bother to wait for an answer walking forward she placed the child into Kai's arms and turned away before he could say anything.

Kai stood awkwardly trying to mimic Hilary's stance when she was holding the baby for some reason that wasn't working. In the end he settled for holding the baby so that it's head was in his hand and its body lay along his arm. The child seemed comfortable with this and Kai actually found himself smiling as he gently rocked the baby from side to side.

Hilary stood she had finished folding up the mat, all she had to do now was clean her hands and she could release Kai, using a wipe to clean herself up Hilary turned and was surprised to see Kai actually looking comfortable, she smiled as she watched his face, his eyes had taken on a soft look. Kai looked up and saw that she was watching him, he smiled at her a little embarrassed, she smiled back at him. If it hadn't been for the shrill ring of the telephone goodness knows how long they would have stood there just smiling at each other.

As the phone rang Kai felt as though he was being snapped back into reality, he walked forward and wordlessly handed Robin back. Taking the changing bag from Hilary he turned and led her back to where the others were.

"Hiro? Yes everything fine……….." Tyson sighed into the phone "No I mean it…..Hilary is right here……..Ok" holding out the phone Tyson said "it's for you Hils"

"Hello Hiro" Hilary spoke chirpily into the mouth piece "No everything's fine…….I promise…Ok let me talk to her…… Arelam? Everything's fine…. No I am about to put him down for the night…. He's already in his night things…. Alright goodbye!" Hilary hung up grinning "I'm actually impressed, they waited a full 35 minutes before they called"

0000000

"Well I better get going" Hilary stood and stretched it was 11:30, Hiro and Arelam had walked through the door 15 minutes ago and after a lot of arguing Hilary had agreed to let them pay her for the babysitting. She didn't mind doing it for free but she was trying to save up for her university fees so she wasn't going to turn it down completely.

"Who's picking you up?" Hiro looked at her concerned

"No one… I'll be fine!" Hilary knew what was coming next, an argument over whether or not it was safe for a young 17 year old to be walking the streets this late.

"Are your parents home?" Hiro knew that Hilary was often home alone and he didn't like the idea of her going home to an empty house

"I honestly don't know, Dad's in Canberra for some lecture thingy, not sure about mum though… don't worry Hiro, I'll be fine"

"I'd feel better if I took you home" Hilary rolled her eyes, she already had five older brothers and a multitude of older male cousins who were always checking up on her she didn't need Hiro to doing it as well.

"I'll take her home" silence filled the room, all eyes turned to Kai

"You'll take her home?" Ray was the first to speak, Kai didn't often put himself out for people everyone was astonished including Hilary

"That's what I said,"

"You don't need too" Hilary said softly

"I'm going home myself now, my hotels not far from where you live." Kai deemed this to be enough of an explanation and with a swish of white scarf he walked out of the door. Hilary shrugged and grabbing her bag followed him

"Bye Guys, see you tomorrow." after they had left the room was silent again

"Wow!" Kenny said, "I know his hotel is in that direction but…."

"I know!" Hiro agreed knowing what Kenny was thinking "Kai doing something considerate when it's not a life or death situation that's gotta be a first."

000000

Kai and Hilary walked along in comfortable silence, Kai was walking fast as usual and he was surprised that Hilary was not only keeping up with him but she didn't seem to be getting to tired as she did so. They continued walking the dark but familiar streets until they had stopped outside her garden gate. The house was dark obviously there was no one at home, Kai saw this but said nothing, he nodded to Hilary and then started to walk away

"Kai!" he turned back to face her "Thanks….for your help earlier!" Hilary then turned went through her gate and walked up her path.

Kai stood watching her as she made her way up to the house unlocked the door and went inside. Kai was still, strange how a simple thank you can make you want to stand and think, Kai shook his head and then turned to walk away.

00000

Hilary dumped her bag in the hallway, she didn't bother to put on the light knowing that the bulb had gone that morning and she hadn't bothered to replace it.

She walked into the front room and was about to put on the light when she realised that something was wrong, the TV in the front room had been moved, in the half-light she could see that the bookshelf that normally had a stereo on it was empty. Worried Hilary turned to run out of the room but ran straight into a broad shouldered man blocking her way. Hilary only had time to let out a small scream before a hand went over her mouth and the man pulled her into a tight grip.

"Now, now, we don't want to wake the neighbours do we?"

She struggled but the man was strong and with her oxygen supply cut off she soon felt her head getting clouded.

* * *

Hah nasty cliffhanger and I'm only in my first chapter!

Boy writing this stuff is easier than I remember, although as I've said that I'll probably get writers block now!

R&R


	2. Damsel in Distress

Hey there I'm back, sorry about the wait!

Thankyou to skyd, bleedinglove-91 and GoddessPhoenix3173 for reviewing. I love getting reviews!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Kai was only a few steps away when he heard a small shriek, he turned to look at the house where he had left Hilary. It seemed odd to him that she hadn't put any lights on, maybe the power went and that's why she screamed? He stood thinking for a second then he saw something he really didn't like, there was a man in the front garden he looked like he was carrying a radio or something. Kai watched as the stranger walked to a van parked near the front of the house and placed what he was carrying into it. The man then ran back to the house and inside the front door. Kai turned back and stealthily jumped over the fence into Hilary's garden, keeping low he crept up to the front window and looked in.

--

Hilary was still standing held tightly from behind, her mouth was covered and she stared at the man in front of her, she could hear the other one returning, the one that had taken her mothers stereo out of the house. There were three of them all big, rough looking, and smelt really bad.

Hilary oddly had gotten over her first panic and was now waiting calmly for the ordeal to end. This actually seemed to amuse the man in front of her he watched as she glanced over at the clock wondering how long this was going to be carrying on for.

"Bored are we?" the man asked Hilary nodded slightly her head was still held pretty tightly by the man behind her. "well we don't want that, if you promise not to scream my friend here will let go of your mouth…. Would you like that?" again Hilary nodded. Slowly, cautiously the man holding her removed his hand.

"Thanks!" Hilary said sarcastically "so how did you get in? Back window the basement one, on the left?"

"Yeah!" the man stared at her smiling grimly "you ought to get that fixed"

"I know, ironically enough we're having someone come to look at it tomorrow." The man laughed at this, Hilary smiled and looked up curiously as the third man returned, he walked in and gave her a threatening glare.

"What are we doing about her?"

"Don't know yet," the man Hilary had been talking to got serious "she's seen our faces, it may be dark but she's probably seen enough to give an ID"

"She's just a kid" the man holding Hilary reasoned "how about we just leave her?" the two men in front of Hilary whispered together for a few minutes.

"Alright G let the girl go, and get that TV in the van" Hilary felt herself being released and the man behind her walked around her and picking up the flat screen left the room.

Hilary stared nervously at the two men in front of her, they were looking grim as though they were about to do something they found repellent. Hilary unconsciously took a step back biting her lip nervously, seeing the movement both men came at her with speed, Hilary put her hands up to defend herself and cried out in pain as she felt something sharp graze her hand, it wasn't a bad cut but Hilary was expecting it to be worse, she continued to move away then tripped over something on the floor. Suddenly she was pinned down by one of the men and he covered her mouth with both hands. The other man advanced with his knife ready when suddenly something or should I say **someone **shot across the room and tackled him to the ground. Hilary took advantage of the surprise and with a quick movement managed to bring her knee up into the groin of the man holding her down.

Kai was on the floor with the man holding the knife, the two of them were wrestling each trying to get the knife pointing at their opponent. Kai was on his back on the floor and the man above him was slowly pressing the knife nearer and nearer, Kai closed his eyes as he made one last ditch effort to push the man off him. There was a grunt and suddenly the man went limp and fell to the side, Kai opened his eyes and saw Hilary standing over him with a heavy lamp in her hand. Kai smiled as he pushed himself up off the floor, Hilary stood frozen looking at the man she had just hit. Kai looked down at the man who had been holding Hilary he was impressed she was obviously a lot stronger than he thought.

"Is he dead?" her voice trembled as she said this, Kai shook his head,

"I doubt it" he leant down and felt the mans pulse it was beating strongly, in the distance he could hear sirens heading their way "he's alive, are you OK?" Hilary was still standing lamp in hand unable to move. "Hilary?" Kai took the lamp from her and sliding an arm around her waist he firmly guided her out of the house.

"Where's the other guy?" Hilary looked around afraid, Kai smiled and pointed to where the man lay out cold on the grass,

"I sorted him out before I came in" Kai walked with Hilary out onto the pavement and soon bright lights and sirens surrounded them. Kai kept his arms around Hilary as the paramedics bound her hand, he was surprised that she made no fuss not even commenting on the pain she must obviously feeling. It was when she laughed that he asked if she was OK wondering if she might be in shock or something.

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just…."

"Just what?"

"Hiro will never let me forget this." Kai laughed as he slipped his arms from her waist, she grinned up at him "I guess I owe you again"

"Owe me?" Kai asked confused

"For saving my life, you always do."

"I will always help you Hilary" Kai looked at her a small smile in his face "but I gotta say, you get into trouble more than anyone I've ever known"

"I know, you just keep on rescuing me." she smiled at him

"Sir we want to take your girlfriend to get a statement now" a female police officer smiled down at the two of them, immediately confusion covered them and they both made stuttering protests

"I'm not...I'm... we're not" Hilary tried to say in a flustered voice

"Yeah we're just...we aren't" Kai continued stuttering

The officer smiled and nodded "I see"

--

"Thank you for coming!" Hilary smiled as she watched the last customers leaving the restaurant, this was one of her first genuine smiles of the day. She was exhausted, she had come here straight from school as usual only to find that they were going to be severely short staffed. Two of the waitresses were off with the flu and one of the chefs had managed to burn his arm in the fryer. Hilary pulled a chair out from a nearby table and sat down for a moment, she had been on her feet all day and the heels that she was supposed to wear were incredibly painful.

"Hey Hils" next to her the head waitress collapsed onto a chair groaning "I swear once I get the chance I am out of here, I quit"

"Bess doesn't your husband kinda own the place?" Hilary grinned as the woman pretended to suddenly remember that this was true

"Oh yeah! Only one thing for it then, tomorrow morning I'm running off with the milkman."

"Are you indeed?" Hilary turned to find the restaurants owner and head chef standing behind them, he dropped down onto a chair with them looking just as tired as they were. Bess sighed and leant against her husband smiling,

"Yep! He's been asking me to run away with him for years, tomorrow I'm taking him up on it" Hilary watched as Andrew slipped his arms around his wife and hugged her tight.

"No you won't"

"No, lucky for you I hate packing" This couple always made Hilary feel happy and slightly jealous they had known each other since they were children and had gotten married when they were 17 and 19. Twenty five years later they had two sons a restaurant and were still as in love as the day they had got married. Hilary stood to give them some privacy and went to get the mop from the supply cupboard,

"Don't do that!" Hilary turned to find Joe her boss's youngest son standing behind her "I'll clean up you get off home!"

"Are you sure" Hilary said hopefully

"Yeah! You've worked really hard today, here!" Hilary took her tip envelope from Joe and was amazed by the amount in it.

"Are you sure this is right?" Hilary counted carefully there was over 300 in there

"It's been a busy night and people have been generous" Joe smiled "see you tomorrow?"

"Sure, thanks Joe I owe you one" Hilary got her stuff from her locker and left the restaurant.

--

Once outside she breathed in heavily letting the cold air give her the energy she was going to need to get home.

"Tired?" Hilary gasped and turned, though she couldn't see the speaker the voice was somehow familiar

"Wh….who's there?" she was a little more jumpy today the attack from last night still fresh in her mind. "If you don't tell me I swear I'll kick your ass"

"Now is that anyway to talk to your favourite cousin?" A familiar smiling male walked out of the shadows and opened his arms to her.

"Mac" Hilary ran forward and hugged him close "what are you doing here?"

"The family heard about the burglary, a few of us are here"

"A few?" Hilary sighed "I'm not even gonna ask how many you consider a few, I guess it'll be safe to go home tonight then"

"Well we're all at your friend Tyson's that's where your mother said you'd be. I guess she thought you might take the day off work after what happened"

"I never call in sick" Hilary said proudly "I never have and I probably never will"

"Well when you drop dead at work I'll make sure I mention that in your eulogy" Hilary laughed and slipping her arm around her cousins waist the two of them began to walk home.

--

Inside the dojo Tyson's front room was beginning to redefine the meaning of the word crowded, over fifteen young men stood or sat talking noisily. Hiro and Tyson were exchanging worried looks it was a good thing that their grandfather wasn't around. The other Blade Breakers had escaped to the safety of the kitchen and were sitting eating dinner with Arelam.

"I had no idea Hilary had such a huge family" Kenny shuddered a little as he said this

"Well I've met her brothers before but the rest of these guys are something else" Max agreed.

"They're being very noisy, if Hilary doesn't get back soon I'm gonna have to ask them to be quiet or Robin will never get any sleep" Arelam carefully removed her chopsticks from Robin's grasp as she said this. She was a little nervous of the men in the other room but she was always brave when her sons welfare was at stake

"Hilary!" In the kitchen they could hear the cry of welcome that announced Hilary's return. Suddenly the noise next door got louder and Tyson and Hiro ran into the kitchen to get away from the family reunion.

"Hilary's back" Tyson announced redundantly, he like the others was incredibly relieved that Hilary had got back, soon the front room would be cleared of the intimidating bunch.

"Alright! Everybody out!" Hilary's commanding voice could be heard clearly over the noise, there was a rumble of footsteps and noisy voices as everyone filed out of the dojo. The kitchen door opened and Hilary stood in the doorway smiling apologetically "sorry, about them!"

"No problem" Hiro lied "what are they all doing here though?"

"They know about last nights events!" Hilary smiled "when there's trouble the 'family' are like a wagon train, they circle round protectively. Especially when it's me."

"Why especially when its you?" Daichi asked curious

"I'm the youngest of the cousins and I'm the only girl!" Hilary shrugged "I think they all get kind of protective. Look I better go I'm working again tomorrow but isn't Saturday the beginning of the next championships?"

"Yeah," Tyson punched the air triumphantly "I am going to kick ass!"

"Tyson!" Ray exclaimed as the boy accidentally knocked his drink across the table causing a mini tidal wave that engulfed Kenny's plate and came dangerously close to damaging the boy's precious lap top. Max swooped down and picked up the computer moving it to safety.

"Whoops sorry!"

"Whoops? SORRY! Tyson why can't you act your age for Gods sake your eighteen now" Kenny stood angrily "Look what you almost did!"

"Well why do you even have that computer at the table? Can't you be without it while your eating?" Tyson snapped

"TYSON!" Hilary yelled "you know that Kenny has been working really hard getting your Dragoon ready for Saturday, apologise now!"

"Sorry Kenny" you could tell Tyson didn't mean it but he knew Hilary was in the right. Kenny merely nodded accepting the apology, Max handed the computer back to his friend with a cheerful grin.

"Right, now I have to go I'll see you all on Saturday. Tyson behave yourself! And Kai can I have a word?" Kai looked up surprised but he stood and followed Hilary out into the front room, she turned to face him blushing slightly "look my cousins and brother want to thank you for last night, and that got me thinking about how I hadn't thanked you myself. So before I take you outside to meet them I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life...again!" without expecting or waiting for a response Hilary turned and led Kai outside, Kai paused as he went through the door in front of him were the fifteen men almost all older than him stood in what looked like a battle formation. He didn't show it but he felt a little nervous.

"Is this him?" Hilary laughed at the look of distaste on her brothers face

"Martin behave, yes this is the one that helped me out. Kai these are my cousins and brothers they wanted to meet you." Kai said nothing as usual but nodded politely acknowledging the introduction.

"Whats with the triangles?" Mac looked at the boys face a little confused.

"Leave it Mac"

"Hi Kai, look we just wanted to thank you for helping Hilary." the others nodded in agreement as Mac came forward, Kai smiled you could definitely tell that these two were related, Mac may have blue eyes but, they had the same hair, face shape and they smiled in almost the exact same way. Mac held out his hand and after a moment Kai took it, they shook hands

"No problem" Kai sounded cold as ever, but he was amused at how Hilary acted the same way with her family as she did with the Blade Breakers.

Suddenly MC Hammers 'U can't touch this' erupted from someone's phone, Hilary laughed as her cousins all began to slide side to side in sync to the music. Kai's eyes widened as the boys all jumped together each move perfectly timed.

"Just in case you were wondering, yes they are crazy, it's hereditary" Hilary told Kai who merely grunted and then curious asked

"How come they all dance so well?"

"Mac and Dante are professional dancers, before they made it properly they used to use us to practice choreography"

"Oh," Kai looked at Mac he had a strong handshake and was quite well built, not exactly how he had ever pictured a professional male dancer. He had always thought of dancing as a sort of girly pastime.

Hilary watched her family and for the first time ever felt a slight sense of embaressment, she shrugged it off "aren't you going to answer the phone?" she called out unsure who the question was aimed at.

"Nah, its just Denzil" one of Hilary cousins came forward and pulled her into the dance, Hilary grinned and fell in beside the boys, all the cousins knew this dance, they had learnt it as a joke to embarrass their eldest cousin at his 21st. Hilary had been six but had learnt it with ease, since then it had become a long standing tradition that as soon as they heard the words 'Can't touch this' they all started up.

"Bye Kai!" laughing harder than ever Hilary and family all danced out of the gate.

Kai watched them go an amused smile on his face, he had always known that Hilary didn't care what the world thought of her, having a family like that he could see why. They were all so free and confident so without cares or trouble, yeah Hilary and her family were definitely crazy.

* * *

Ok so no cliffhanger this time, the story is just starting up really there will be innumerable plot twists (I'm getting confused just writing it!)

It might be another week until you get a new chapter though, revision has replaced my social life and everything else I used to do in my spare time has had to take a back seat as well!

Please R&R


	3. Goodbyes

Thanks for the reviews people, I love to get reviews it makes me want to write even more than I already do!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

It was very early on Saturday morning when Hilary arrived at Tyson's, she looked around it was quiet she had known that most of the guys would be asleep but she was pretty sure that Kai would be around here somewhere. Today the blade breakers would all go their separate ways returning to their various teams ready for the next world championship.

Walking around the side of the house Hilary found him, "Hello Kai" he looked up and gave a light grunt of welcome, "good to see you too" Hilary laughed as she said this.

Kai didn't show it but he was surprised, how had she known he was thinking that? He shook his head assuming that she was being sarcastic. He made no move to walk away he just remained where he was leaning against the wall holding his beyblade in front of him and staring at it.

Hilary smiled at Kai's confusion, she had begun to notice that Kai had different grunts with different meanings, it was like trying to understand a baby when they first started talking and thanks to her nieces and nephews she had plenty of experience with that!

"So I guess Tala, Ian, Bryan and Spencer will be there today?"

"Hn"

"You must have missed them." Kai snorted but Hilary could tell that he didn't mean it, his eyes were still concentrating on his beyblade. Hilary looked at the centre where Dranzer's picture had once been located. "Kai you can be of use to the team, bitbeast or no bitbeast, you guys almost won last year and you didn't have Dranzer then. Anyway I know you've got something up your sleeve"

Kai looked up into the girls ruby eyes, what the hell was this? Had Hilary taken some sort of mind reading course that he wasn't aware of?

"Besides Tala and the others would have said something if they didn't want you back they aren't the kind of people to just have someone tag along out of pity, not like you guys" Hilary knew that she was often thought of as just a tag along, it was because of this that she had decided not to be part of the team this year, she was going to miss travelling around with the guys but she needed to make some serious money this summer "they're just not like that and you know it."

"How did you….?"

"Know what you were thinking?"

"OK stop it," Kai was even more freaked out by the fact that she was now finishing his sentences for him. Hilary laughed it wasn't often that Kai had any emotion showing on his face and the look he had now was almost priceless (literally, she could have taken a photo and sold it to the papers).

"Don't worry Kai, I haven't got the gift of telepathy. I just know you better than you think I do. For example the fact that you haven't already left to join your team tells me that you're a little worried they won't want you back after last years loss. I also know that the reason you have refused to battle Tyson over the last few weeks is because you're working on something new and are afraid that you'd get angry battling Tyson and let it slip. I also know you really value Tala's opinion and need his acceptance."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you don't acknowledge me when he's around." This was said without a trace of reproach it was just stated as fact. Kai looked at Hilary she was staring at the beyblade in his hand. "As that's the case I know you won't be in touch with me over the next few months and as I'm not coming along this year I'll say it now. Good luck Kai, I actually have this feeling that this year, you'll do it" And with that Hilary turned and walked away.

Kai watched her go, she had changed a lot over the years and Kai was finding it hard to get along with her. Once upon a time he had spoken to her instead of just grunting but recently he found himself withdrawing from their easy friendship, was it because he was ashamed of getting close to a girl? Was Hilary right about him ignoring her when Tala was around? He had never thought about it consciously before, but he knew that she was right when Tala was around he never spoke directly to her. Whatever it was he was losing her, he was losing her friendship and he didn't know what to do about it.

--

"Oh yeah" Tyson four times world champ grinned and waved at photographers as he Daichi, Hiro and Kenny made their way into the building "The boys are back in town!"

There were crowds of paparazzi lining up by the entrance to the BBA, Tyson was as usual enjoying the perks of being famous.

"We never left town?" Daichi looked up a little confused

"Figure of speech dude!" Tyson signed a few autographs and posed for a few pictures but despite his cheerful façade he wasn't feeling right this year. Something was wrong it wasn't until he looked around at the other teams all laughing and joking that he realised what it was. Daichi was a good kid but very like Tyson in disposition, Hiro was his elder brother so he was very bossy, and Kenny was usually buried in his laptop. This year there was no one to have a decent joke with. This year there was no one to talk to about things other than beyblade. This year there was no one to instinctively know what he was feeling and try to help. This year there was no Hilary, stangely enough he almost felt as though he needed her there.

"Hi guys" Tyson turned to see the White Tiger X team making their way over to them.

"Hi everyone" Tyson smiled at them all especially Mariah who noticing his troubled eyes put an arm around his shoulders,

"What's up Ty?"

"Nothing Mariah I'm just thinking about the tournament"

"Tyson thinking? Someone alert the media," the familiar female voice caused Tyson's face to light up

"Hilary!" Mariah and Hilary both ran forward and threw their arms around each other jumping up and down, "Damn girl you look great" Mariah gave Hilary an appraising look it had been over a year since they had seen each other and Hilary had filled out giving her an air of sophistication. Her hair was longer and was now (thanks to curling tongs) shaped in loose curls around her shoulders.

"So do you" Hilary grinned Mariah had had an image change she was no longer the sweet but minxlike girl she had been when the two had first met. She looked more mature but she still had that spark of mischief in her eyes, Mariah's hair was shorter and more layered, Mariah had also taken to wearing skirts that showed off her long and shapely legs.

The two girls had gotten close over the last few years, Ray had been travelling backwards and forwards from China a lot, once Mariah had come with him and had persuaded Hilary to travel back with them. Hilary had spent three weeks in China and the two girls had become firm friends. They spoke on the phone almost constantly when Hilary got the bill she occasionally got confused as to which of the figures on the page was her phone number and which one was the amount she owed.

"So is that the famous uniform?" Mariah grinned as Hilary gave a quick turn, Hilary hated her work clothes but truth be told she looked pretty good in that low cut top, "shows off the cleavage!" Mariah complimented

"I know but I swear I feel so on show," Hilary adjusted the neckline so that it hung like it was supposed to, it showed a lot more Mariah moved forward and took hold of the neckline folding it back up.

"Yeah I can see why you fold it like yo…" Mariah cut herself off, both she and Hilary had forgotten their audience. Mariah turned and watched as the boys around them all looked in different directions or pretended to intently read the forms in their hands. Mariah laughed 'God guys were so predictable' "We'll finish this another time" Hilary who had also found it amusing that the boys all pretended they hadn't been watching laughed with her.

"I wish we did have more time!" Mariah raised an eyebrow questioningly, so Hilary explained "I'm not coming at all this year, the restaurant has offered me more work and you know why I really need the money"

"Your not coming?" Mariah looked upset "But who am I gonna talk to about…stuff" Mariah said winking. The two girls laughed they each knew what 'stuff' meant.

"It's called a phone Mariah, we've managed this last year just using the phone."

--

"Bye!" Hilary stood at the airport waving to her friends as team by team they all presented their tickets and passports and made their way onto the plane. One of the last teams to go were the blitzkrieg boys, there was no particular reason for this, it was probably just that they wanted to spend as little time on the plane with the others as possible.

Kai kept his eyes on Hilary as he made his way towards the gate, she had her back to him as she waved goodbye to Max and his fellow PPB All Starz. As the team got closer Kai began to feel something in the pit of his stomach, it took a while for him to register it but eventually he worked out what it was, he was already missing Hilary.

Hilary turned and saw the Blitzkrieg boys coming towards her, she smiled and bowed "Good bye" she then continued walking past them and not looking back she made her way out of the airport.

Ian watched as Hilary walked away, "nice ass" he remarked causing Kai to give him a glare, if looks could kill this one certainly would. To Kais disappointment looks don't kill and Ian continued to watch Hilary as she slowly went out of sight.

"Are you OK Kai?" Tala looked at his team mate who had his fists clenched

"Fine!" Kai muttered and giving himself a shake he turned and followed the rest of the teams onto the plane.

--

Hilary felt like crying as she walked out of the airport and away from her friends,

"Hey Hil" Mac was standing by the taxi rank waiting for her "you OK?"

"Of course" she didn't even attempt to look cheerful as she answered her cousin they walked together heading for the car park

"You don't look OK, you look unhappy"

"Maybe because I am" she leant against Mac as they got to the floor they needed.

"Well I have something to cheer you up" Mac smiled and pointed over to where their convertable was parked. A attractive tall brunette was leaning casually against the car, he removed his sunglasses and gave her a grin. It was a devastatingly attractive smile that had made many a girls heart flutter. Hilarys heart jumped as she saw the smile, she was in no attracted to the thirty three year old male leaning back oh so casually but he had aways been her hero.

"Shane" Hilary ran forward and was hugged close by her cousin

"Hey little girl" they stood squeezing each other tight "hey, hey come on" Shane pulled away from her and found that she was crying "things can't be that bad, what happened to the optimistic never say die Hilary I know and love?"

"Her friends are all about to travel the globe and see interesting sites while she has to spend her summer working as a waitress with long hours, high heels, and customers who think that waitresses are to blame for all the worlds problems" she began to sound croaky as she said all this, her tears falling fast,

"Aren't they?" Shane laughed as the young girl hit him on the arm. "Let's go home and talk this through OK little girl?"

Hilary nodded and sniffing sadly she climbed into the back seat. Shane and Mac exchanged worried looks as they got into the car, the engine started and music blasted from the stereo and they pulled away from the airport.

* * *

OK so no real story going on yet but it will improve soon. Please bear with me like I said it's a work in progress.

R&R


	4. Settling in

Ok people here's the next chapter, this kinda builds up a setting for the rest of the story.

I do not own beyblade

* * *

The beyblading teams had all arrived in America, the PPB All Starz among others had been thrilled to be back in their hometown, the preliminaries were being held in America, they had been scheduled to happen in Japan but as usual last years battles had been tough and a new stadium was being constructed. Mr Dickenson often joked that it was impossible to get insurance out on any building where Tyson and Kai usually ended up being the final act.

So here they were, ready for the preliminaries each team had to win exactly six games out of nine in order to get through to the next round. After the preliminaries the sport would go back to almost it's old format. three battles would be played, each individual game would be played by one team member. Team members would only be allowed to play one battle each, failure to show up for the battle would result in disqualification. You could not play more than one battle except under special circumstances, all three battles had to be played even if one team had won the first two. This of course meant that each team needed three or more bladers

Tyson Daichi and Kenny were back as the Blade Breakers, the three of them had become a strong team recently. F Dynasty was back but this year they had a new member with them, Christine was an old friend of their's from the circus, she could walk tightrope and so could her beyblade! Christine was a pretty young girl with bright orange hair, she looked very like Julia and rightly so considering the fact that she was their half sister. Barthez Battalion were back only this time they were calling themselves the Allied Adversary's, The Majestics were going to be around this year and already making their presence felt. The BEGA team were also back all five of them wanting to prove to the world that they could be a serious team, they had decided to call themselves BEGA knowing that changing they're name would never let anyone forget their past.

There were three new prominent teams as well, Team Reformation consisted of three boys and one girl. The three brothers, Anthon, Jerome, Bavin and their cousin Millie. The boys had black eyes and green hair of various shades, Millie was a nervous looking girl with long blonde hair always tied back into a plait. No one knew much about the team and they had never played competitively before.

Team Thunderbolt were another completely unknown group three boys Lando, Kendall and Lincoln. They were a curious group who seemed to hold no real affinity for either the game or their team mates. Then there was team Beast Enslaved, this team had three boys Nathan, Lucas, Jamie, and one girl Ino. They had been seen around before in a few amateur tournaments but this was their first time in the Championships.

--

"How's everyone settling in?" Mr Dickenson watched as Hiro walked through the door of his suite "I trust the hotel has given them everything they need."

"Everyone's settling in just fine Mr D, it looks to me like we're going to have a quiet year this year." Mr Dickenson motioned for the boy to sit, Hiro sat on the couch and crossed his legs.

"Thats sounds like anice change!" the older man chuckled "How are you doing?"

"I'm having Arelam withdrawal" Hiro admitted, "She and Robin are going to be staying with her mother for a few weeks. They'll be joining us soon though!"

"You must be missing her"

"I am, but I'll be working hard if, I work hard I might not miss her so much." Hiro didn't sound convinced but he wanted to prove to Mr Dickenson that he could do his job even without his wife at his side.

"Well when you next talk to her tell her I'm looking forward to seeing them both"

"Thank you sir I'll tell her."

"Are we all set to start the preliminaries tomorrow?"

"Yes sir, first up it's the PPB All Starz you'll be there to watch that no doubt!"

"Judy Tate will be there with her husband, I've said I'll sit with them, obviously I can't really cheer little Max on but I do wish I could."

"Being objective can be hard" Hiro agreed smiling

--

"Ah sweet," Tyson threw himself back onto the bed "This hotel isn't half bad"

"It's well situated, a reasonable distance from the stadium" Kenny agreed

"Kenny 'a reasonable distance from the stadium' is not at all what I meant. This place is great, I can't wait to try the food!"

"I was thinking more along the lines of making sure we were never late to a match. Remember that time at the Asian championships when we had the accident and you had to carry Ray all the way there."

"Oh well if it ever happens again Daichi's a lot lighter and easier to carry, aren't you monkey boy?"

"Hey!" Daichi protested "quit calling me monkey boy!"

"I will when you stop looking like a monkey boy!"

"I don't look like a monkey boy"

"Well you also smell like one"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

Kenny sighed as he watched the two boys arguing he tried to shout over them but it made no difference. He didn't have the energy or a loud enough voice to make himself heard. Groaning slightly Kenny sat on his bed and watched the two of them arguing, he knew that this could take some time. 'Hilary' Kenny thought to himself 'I miss you already!'

--

Ray grinned as he watched Mariah, she was busy giving Galux a tune up and hadn't noticed him even enter the room. Lee was going through some paperwork and Gary and Kevin were having a friendly practice battle, finally Ray was noticed and Lee came forward.

"Hey Ray" Lee walked over to his team mate and the two of them immediately fell into conversation about strategy and training schedules.

Mariah who had finally noticed Ray, grinned as she saw him look over at her again. Lee was looking at a form so Ray smiled back at the girl and raised his eyebrows and nodded at the ceiling, Mariah nodded back and slid from the room making sure that no one saw her. Ray nodded as he pretended to listen to Mariah's elder brother, he was trying to think up an excuse to slip away.

"What do you think?" Lee finally asked

"Sounds…" Ray trailed off, he had absolutely no idea what Lee had just said, if he said 'sounds great' and Lee had just said that he thought they were going to lose he would have some trouble explaining why he wasn't listening, "It sounds….about right"

"Great!" Lee smiled "I'll start booking practice rooms for tomorrow...hey where did Mariah go?"

"She was fixing up Galux maybe she needed some more parts" Ray suggested quickly

"Well go find her, we have a training session in half an hour" Lee sounded annoyed "do you know which room she's in?"

"Yeah!" Ray said a little too hastily, Lee's gaze became a little intense at the quick answer "I mean I noticed her room number when we checked in"

"Go find her for me then…" Lee watched Ray with slight suspicion "...and don't take too long about it"

"OK" Ray ran off happily, he took the elevator and once out, made his way down the corridor. At Mariah's door he knocked grinning widely

Mariah opened the door and smiled back at him "Fancy meeting you here!" She teased

"Fancy!" Ray walked through the door and kicked it shut behind him, once inside he took the pinkette roughly into his arms and kissed her, Mariah sighed inwardly as she felt his tongue flick along her bottom lip, she opened her mouth allowing him to enter.

It was the first time she and Ray had had any alone time since his trip to Japan, she had missed him so much!

"How long have we got?" Mariah hissed as he began to move his lips from hers,

"About half an hour" he placed chaste kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder

"Don't!" Mariah begged as he began to suck on her neck "Lee will see"

"I don't care" as Ray continued to attack her neck Mariah pushed him away smirking a little at the hiss of frustration this earned "I want to tell Lee, and the others, and the whole world!" he declared "Why is that a problem?"

"Because if we tell Lee we won't get any alone time together, you know what a traditionalist he is"

"We can deal with Lee…." Ray pulled away from her and looked into her eyes

"Do you remember what happened to that boy from the village when he kissed me in front of Lee?"

"Yeah" Ray winced at the memory, that poor kid had needed serious dental surgery after Lee was done with him "But this is me, he might be OK with it"

"Ray I'm your best friends little sister, most guys would understand why this is such a problem! Please lets just keep it a secret a little longer" she removed her arm from around his neck and slid it into his shirt gently rubbing the skin underneath "please"

Ray knew that he was going to agree with whatever she asked, he loved her and that look in her eyes was causing him to shiver in anticipation.

--

Rick Max and Emily looked around at their surroundings, they were in the new stadium looking around, "It's amazing" Max breathed as he stared around the huge building

"It's not all that special!" Rich shrugged as he looked around "I've seen better"

"But have you beybladed in better?" Max asked

"Not yet" Rick ever the confident sneered a little as he said this, beside them Emily giggled

"Don't get too self-assured Rick" she pushed her glasses up her nose and looked around "asides from anything else there are many new teams, three of them I've been unable to gather an real data on"

"Don't sweat it Em" Rick raised his stereo to his shoulder and turned to walk out of the building "whatever they've got we can beat them." He strode away leaving Max and Emily alone, the two of them grinned at each other

"Nice to see Rick hasn't changed while I was in Japan"

"It must be good to be back" Emily went to get a look at the dish she knelt down and studied it carefully "This is tough stuff shouldn't fall apart to easily, good thing when you consider who the bladers are"

"Yeah" Max knelt beside the girl "so what did you get up to while I was gone?"

"Not much, just did some training"

"Tennis or beyblading?"

"Bit of both, what were you doing?"

"Beyblading mostly, we had some fun though"

"I thought beyblading was fun for you"

"It is but Hilary made sure we did some other stuff, we went to a few amusement parks, had a few BBQ's that sort of thing."

"Sounds fun!"

"It was but I missed you guys."

"Really?" Emily blushed a little as he said this, she had missed him too!

"Yeah, um…. Emily what are you doing later?"

"Nothing much why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner"

"Sure where we all going?"

"Not all of us, just you and me" Max smiled as he saw Emily begin to blush, her movements became flustered and she was trying to look at anything but him.

--

The Blitzkrieg Boys minus Ian were sitting in the locker room, they all remained silent catching up on each others news wasn't exactly a thing they all felt the need to do. Kai felt comfortable as he stood eyes half closed.

"Sorry I'm late guys" Ian walked in and looked at the others

"No problem" Tala said "what have you found out?"

"Few new teams we might have to keep our eyes on but asides from that as usual our biggest competition comes from Kai's old team-mates" They all nodded "This being said I think it would be best if Kai was captain his year"

Kai was startled even though he didn't show it, he looked over at Tala to see his reaction but was unrewarded Tala had the same facial expression that he had had before. The Blitzkrieg Boys never had been known for their emotional displays, Kai felt more comfortable with this team but sometimes he wished he was back with the others. He could always tell what the Blade Breakers were thinking or feeling, either because they showed it on their faces or they voiced their opinions.

"I agree" Tala said quietly

"Me too"

"So do I"

Kai accepted his captainship with a slight nod and a "lets go train" and with that they left the locker room.

--

Many miles away in Russia no less, a man in a dirty grey outfit sat looking through that days paper. He read the news about what was going on in the world, he turned to the business section and browsed that, then finally he turned to the sports pages. He smiled grimly at the picture of Mr Dickenson, in the photo next to the old man stood Tyson, Daichi, Kenny and Hilary. Last years world champions were back the article told him, back to retain their title, for a moment the man read the articles about various blading teams but his eyes were soon drawn back to that picture. Carefully he tore the photo from the page and standing placed it into a book filled with newspaper articles and photos.

"Lights out!" a voice called and slowly one by one the lights were tuned off.

In his cold grey prison cell Voltaire Hiwatari smiled to himself tomorrow he would make an important call, perhaps this year things would be different.

* * *

I know, slightly dull but I needed to set up for future references.

And Voltaire is going to be the bad guy here, I've only ever used Boris before so new territory for me, but he's not the only bad guy. As I said before this story is kinda complicated.

Please R&R!


	5. The Games Begin

A slightly shorter chapter than usual but it's not too bad. I think!

I updated twice in one night but I probably won't be back for a little while, I've got so much revision to do!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

Hilary sat watching the TV, it was the second day of the tournament and Tyson Kenny and Daichi were up against one of the new teams. She was on the edge of her seat, it was the third battle and they needed a win this time.

"Come on Daichi" she yelled at the screen "Come on!"

"Hilary?" Shane walked into the room holding a pizza box, "the guys and I were wondering if you want pizza?"

"I'm too tense to eat, COME ON DAICHI!"

"You do know he can't hear you right?"

"Shut up you do this when your watching football" Hilary said leaning closwer to the screen "You can do this Daichi!"

"Football's an actual sport you know."

"So is this, and this is just as big as the world cup. Don't think I haven't forgotten the day you called in sick just so you could watch the first game of that championship"

"Ok Ok, so how they doing?" Shane looked at the screen where a redheaded boy who looked slightly primate was jumping around shouting commands

"Fine, it's only a preliminary it's not like they can get knocked out yet but Tyson will get all despondent and depressed if they lose. They need a win to start off from, then they should be OK"

"So how do you win exactly? As far as I can tell you just spin around."

"If the opponents beyblade stops spinning or gets knocked from the dish, that's a win"

"I see…," Shane wasn't really too interested "…so you want some pizza?"

"Leave it in the kitchen I'll join you all in a minute" Her eyes hadn't left the screen once and she just waved him away with one hand.

--

"Alright Daichi!" Tyson cheered as his team-mate walked away from the dish "nice win"

"I knew I could beat him, my Strata Dragoon can beat anyone"

Kenny made his way over to the team they had just beaten "Good game"

"Thanks" the boys all shook hands and walked away from each other.

Tyson and the others walked through the stadium feeling elated, to end the first game of the championships on a win was a good feeling.

"Hey guys lets go back to the hotel and get room service!" Tyson yelled

"We have to go fill in some forms first" Kenny said bringing the mood down

"We didn't ever have to before" Daichi moaned "what kind of forms"

"Just some easy information" Kenny told him "and yes we always had to do it remember the first tournament Tyson?"

"Yeah but we didn't have to last year or the year before" Tyson told him

"That's because Hilary would do it for you. She knew you'd just moan about it so she'd do it instead"

"Oh right" Tyson smiled to himself "I guess I just never thought about stuff like that"

"You wouldn't, there's a lot of work goes into these championship tournaments you don't turn up and play"

--

Kai and the Blitzkrieg Boys had just finished playing their first preliminary, it was an easy battle as for as they were concerned, three straight wins and an assurance of moving on quickly seemed to lighten their spirits. As they walked away Kai could hear another battle going on in another stadium. Walking along The Blitzkrieg Boys could see The PPB All Starz engaged in their second preliminary, Kai couldn't help but stop and watch the battle as he silently willed Max's team to win. He dearly wanted to battle his friend at some point, Max had never stopped improving and now Kai was looking forward to when his team went up against the All Starz.

Max was battling a new blader, some one he had never been up against before, but it was obvious he was making light work of the battle. He had soon thrown his opponent's blade from the dish and was declared winner. Kai smiled ever so slightly as he watched the young blonde run to the bench heading straight for Emily, the tennis player met him before he reached the bench and threw her arms around his neck. There was a small 'awww' from the watching crowds causing both of them to blush.

--

"Matilda! MATILDA!" Matilda and her team turned and saw Mariah running towards them at top speed

"Hey Mariah is everything alright?"

"I need a favour" Mariah grabbed her friends arm and pulled her to one side

"What's up?"

"I need you to cover for me tonight"

"Cover for you? Why what's going on?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow I promise, but for now if anyone asks could you just say I'm crashing at yours tonight?"

"Um... OK. As long as you promise to tell me what's going on tomorrow"

"I promise, look I gotta get back Lee's up in a minute! Thanks Mattie you're the best" Mariah turned and waving ran back the way she had come.

"Don't call me that!" Matilda called after her,

"What was all that about?" Miguel asked as Matilda returned to them,

"Nothing" she said lightly "just girl stuff!"

--

Lee was battling hard he was up against a young girl named Millie from team Reformation one of the new bladers, for some reason he seemed to be struggling against the timid young blonde. Behind the young girl her team seemed relaxed, each team had won one game and whoever would be declared the winner depended on this battle.

"Come on Lee" Mariah yelled

"Don't sweat it Mariah" Kevin told her "It's not like we get knocked out in this round we still have eight other games to play"

"I know, but that girls looks so shy, like she's afraid of her own shadow! It would be embarrassing for him to lose to her"

"Shy she may be" Ray said regarding Lee's opponent carefully "but she has some real power going on there."

"Fine" Mariah sat down huffily crossing her arms "I just think it would be nice to start on a win that's all"

"It doesn't matter" Ray gently rested his hand on the seat between them and gently nudged her, Mariah dropped her hand down and the two of them linked their fingers together. The action was tiny and almost unnoticeable but a certain green haired team-mate saw Mariah face break into a sly smile changing from it's expression of annoyance.

Kevin gave the two of them a good look, they had been disappearing off a lot lately, becoming a little like Clark Kent or Peter Parker disappearing off with a rather pathetic excuse.

There was a cheer and some disappointed yelling from the crowd as Lee's blade went flying from the dish, Lee looked over at Millie angrily and immediately felt bad as the girl started to look afraid.

"Good Game" he admitted

"Thank you" she whispered so quietly that he could barely hear her, Lee walked over to her and held out his hand,

"I hope we battle each other again"

She looked up a little less shy this time "Me too!" they shook hands. She turned and skipped happily into the arms of her team mates. For a new team to beat the Tigers was quite an accomplishment she and her cousins would be taken more seriously now.

Ray and Mariah saw Lee turning and quickly pulled their hands into their laps, unbeknownst to them Kevin was still watching them and had seen the quick movement and was now getting very suspicious. He watched Mariah and Ray stand to console Lee and wondered why the two of them would hide their relationship. The whole team thought they would be good together so why wouldn't they say that they were dating. It was then that Kevin thought of something, they all had separate rooms could the two of them be sleeping together?

He shook his head banishing the thought from his mind, in their village that kind of thing was still kept until after marriage and just because they were no longer in the village didn't mean that Mariah would do something like that.

Or did it?

--

Tala stood in his room feeling a lot more tired than usual, that last battle had taken a lot out of him. He held a hand up to his forehead and tested his temperature with his fingers.

Drip, drip, drip.

Blood was dropping onto his trousers, Tala looked at his hands and was shocked. The deep red liquid was oozing slowly from under his fingernails. His hands shook as he grabbed a towel and tried to staunch the flow. He started to panic as his white gym towel seemed to become more blood than material

"Tala?" Tala hid his hands behind his back as Kai entered the room

"What do you want Kai?"

"Just checking that you're all going to bed, are you ok?" Tala was looking shifty and Kai was suspicious

"Fine, I'm just going to change into my jimmy jams mom" Tala said jokingly, Kai nodded slowly and walked out.

Tala turned his attention back to his hands and was relieved to see that the bleeding has stopped. Carefully he made his way to the sink and washed the blood away, there was a small amount on his trousers so he walked to his dresser and quickly changed into his clubbing gear.

Going to bed the night after a win like they had, had today? No way, he and the boys were going out!

* * *

So somethings wrong with Tala and it looks like Kevin is onto Ray and Mariah!

I know rubbish chapter but I'll try do better next time (no promises though)

Please R&R I love to get reviews!


	6. Night Time Activities

Another pointless and slightly short chapter I'm afraid, the real story hasn't even started yet really. I plan to put up 2 chapters tonight just because I can!

That and I'm supposed to be revising, I won't be back for a couple of weeks probably but I'll try not to end it on a nasty cliffhanger cos that would be mean.

I do not own beyblade.

* * *

Tala stood in the club enjoying the pounding music, allowing the alcohol he had drunk cloud his senses. He didn't want to think about what had happened earlier, for the Blitzkrieg Boys getting ill was not an option.

Tala smiled to himself as the clubs energy and atmosphere coursed through him, here he felt alive, here he forgot his troubles, here he could take on the world and win. He was watching as his friends danced to the music, he Ian Bryan and Spencer has decided to sneak out tonight. Kai was pretty strict now he was captain stricter than Tala had ever been and Tala liked to go on the pull as much as the others.

On the dance floor Spencer was being watched by an admiring fan girl, when he saw her Spencer sent her a wink. The fan girl flushed bright red and tried to move away.

"Hey there" he was at her side before she could do anything "why is the most beautiful girl in the place all alone?" The girl looked up eyes sparkling, Spencer smiled inwardly this was going to be easy. "I guess your boyfriend is around here somewhere!" He pretended to look around for the elusive boyfriend.

"No, I was just here with some girlfriends" the girl smiled shyly up at the taller boy

"Oh so your boyfriend must really trust you, if you were my girl I wouldn't let you out of my sight for a second"

"There is no boyfriend"

"Now that I don't believe…"

Tala could see Spencer clearly as he flirted with some girl by the dance floor, he grinned thinking what a good thing it was they had their own rooms. Spencer wasn't the only one trying his luck, Bryan and Ian were talking to attractive fangirls using similar chat up lines. Tala could have almost laughed the Blitzkrieg Boys were so predictable, they usually ended up using the same chat up lines each time.

For a moment he wished that Kai had come too but he then remembered the last time they had brought Kai clubbing. Girls had just surrounded them so they could barely move, Kai had gotten angry and stalked out coldly followed by half the girls in the place. For some reason Kai seemed completely uninterested in girls, there didn't seem to be any reason why Kai was colder than them but Tala and the others were getting of sick of it. There was no harm in a little one night stand, if only Kai would realise that.

Tala and the guys had said it once they had said it a thousand times Kai needed to get laid!

Tala sighed he and the other Bboys had their fair share of female fans but the minute Kai was around they would be forgotten. Over by the bar Tala could see a blonde watching him though narrowed eyes, he looked her up and down, long legs and dressed to kill.

"Hello" Tala stood with the girl "can I get you a drink?"

"Bacardi and coke" the blonde gave him a wide smile revealing perfect white teeth

"Coming right up! I guess your boyfriend is around here somewhere" Tala pretended to look around

"I'm just here with some friends" she smiled as her drink was handed over, Tala paid the bartender and turned to look at the girl

"Oh so your boyfriend must really trust you, if you were my girlfriend, well I wouldn't let you out of my sight for a second"

"I don't currently have a boyfriend"

"Now that I don't believe…" 'hey' he thought to himself 'if a strategy works!'

--

"Is everything alright Matilda?" Ming Ming looked at the younger girl with some surprise "you seem nervous."

"I just don't want to be seen coming in!"

"Why not? Is Miguel against you going clubbing?"

"No!" Matilda laughed in fact getting Miguel a bit jealous by going out tonight was part of her agenda tonight "Mariah asked me to cover for her tonight, I don't know what she's up too but I better not let any of the Tigers see me!"

"The White Tigers?" Ming Ming laughed "they'll all be tucked up in bed by now like the good team that they are."

"I don't know"

"Come on Matilda they are the perfect team remember. Good team communication, spend all their spare time training, in bed by ten. It's like Mr D always says if we were all like them this tournament would be a lot easier to run."

"So why is Mariah having me lie for her?"

"Ooh good point" Ming Ming smiled to herself "I smell a scandal!" The two girls walked into the hotel giggling, all thoughts of making sure they weren't seen disappeared as they tried to work out what Mariah could be up to!

--

At the front desk of the hotel a blushing young man with green hair was dressed in blue pyjamas (with little yellow teddy bears) waiting impatiently.

"So you lost your key?" a tired looking Hiro Granger had arrived downstairs, he was also wearing light blue pyjamas (only no teddy bears).

"Hiro!" Kevin turned full of relief "Yeah I got locked out and these people won't believe me when I say what room I'm in."

"These people are under strict instructions to call me before they give out any keys"

"Oh" Kevin smiled his thanks as Hiro nodded to the receptionist and the lady passed him a key, over to his left he heard a shrill giggle. Out of the corner of his eye Kevin could just see Matilda and Ming Ming enter the hotel, they got into one of the elevators and disappeared from sight. Immediately Kevin's brain started working hadn't Mariah said she was staying with Matilda tonight?

"Did you want something else Kevin?" Hiro asked yawning "It's kinda late"

"Um….No! Thank you" Kevin got into the other elevator and looked at the panel of buttons, he and the guys were on floors 11,12, and 13. The girls were on floors 6-9 Mairah he knew was on the 8th floor.

Kevin pressed button 8

--

"Lee?"

"You better have a good reason for waking me Kevin" Lee yawned as he opened the door to his room "whats up?"

"I thought that Mariah said she was staying with Matilda tonight" Kevin said biting his lip

"She is, they're having some sort of girls night"

"Well… I just saw Matilda coming into the hotel with Ming Ming it looked like they had gone clubbing. Mariah wasn't with them"

"What are you getting at?" Lee asked yawning

"Well I went to check her room to make sure she was OK but there was no answer"

"She's probably asleep" Lee groaned he really wished the younger boy would go away

"Yeah I guess" Kevin started to move away

"Kevin wait" Lee immediately regretted calling his friend back, he would dearly love some sleep right about now "Why are you so worried?"

"Lee I think something's going on with her and Ray" this got Lee's immediate attention, Kevin stared at his feet "I don't know for sure but… I don't like telling on them but Mariah is like a sister to me and I guess I'm just worried about her"

"Go to bed Kevin" Lee hissed, Kevin looked into his friends eyes and gasped there was an anger there that he hadn't seen for a long time. In fact the last time he had seen Lee this mad was just after Ray had left the village

"Look Lee… I'm sure it's nothing but"

"Go to bed and promise me you won't leave that room"

"Lee!"

"Promise me"

"I promise" Kevin nodded unhappily as he said this. Lee made his way to the elevator, Kevin knew he was going to check his sisters room the younger boy sighed but obeyed his captain a sinking feeling in his chest.

Once inside his room Kevin grabbed the phone and dialled Rays room, the phone rang but was left unanswered 'please let me be wrong' Kevin prayed but he knew deep down that he wasn't.

--

"Ray the phone" Mariah protested as he trailed kisses down her body

"Leave it" he snapped and pulled her up so that they were sitting chest to chest "I doubt it's important" and with that he crushed his mouth onto hers.

* * *

I know that for a Kai Hil story there isn't a lot of Kai or Hil yet but hey these things take time especially as I have them in different countries.

There's not a lot going on in the story yet so bear with me!

Please R&R


	7. The Morning After

Hello again!! Longer chapter this time.

Ok quick note about this, the two profile names used (_smiffyizdabest_ and _actress4eva07_) are real people on youtube. They have made many funny and sweet amv about Kaihil and other things beyblade. I haven't asked their permission but I am adding them to the disclaimer. I love their videos they make me laugh so hard sometimes!!

I do not own Beyblade, or smiffyizdabest or actress4eva07.

* * *

Now we all remember what happened last time:

_"Lee I think something's going on with her and Ray" this got Lee's immediate attention, Kevin stared at his feet "I don't know for sure but… I don't like telling on them but Mariah is like a sister to me and I guess I'm just worried about her"_

_"Go to bed Kevin" Lee hissed, Kevin looked into his friends eyes and gasped there was an anger there that he hadn't seen for a long time. In fact the last time he had seen Lee this mad was just after Ray had left the village_

_"Look Lee… I'm sure it's nothing but"_

_"Go to bed and promise me you won't leave that room"_

_"Lee!"_

_"Promise me"_

_"I promise" Kevin nodded unhappily as he said this. Lee made his way to the elevator, Kevin knew he was going to check his sisters room the younger boy sighed but obeyed his captain a sinking feeling in his chest. _

* * *

Heh heh heh

* * *

"Hello Ray!" as Ray opened his door he was surprised to find a familiar team-mate looking incredibly angry.

"Lee! What are you doing here buddy? It's past midnight" Ray rubbed his eyes as he glanced at his watch,

"I went to Mariah's room a minute ago and she's not there" Lee's eyes were furiously angry, Ray had never seen him this mad and he felt goosebumps up and down his arms.

"Oh well she said something about staying with Matilda" Ray grinned in a reassuring way

"I already checked she's not there either" Lee said darkly, for a spilt second Rays face showed the panic he was feeling but he quickly covered it and smiled in a clueless way.

"Really, well I wonder where she could be?" he seemed to be pondering the situation but his amazing acting skills weren't as convincing as he wanted them to be.

"That's exactly what I was wondering!" Lee was getting even more riled up he knew just what was going on and Ray's pretence of ignorance really angered him.

"It's a real puzzle" Ray grinned even harder starting to inwardly pray that Lee wouldn't kill him. He suddenly saw why Mariah had insisted on secrecy for so long.

"Ray where is my sister?" Lee gave Ray a murderous look, Ray knew that there was no chance of getting away with this one, he decided to try being honest.

"Lee look, calm down" Ray didn't have time to say anything more as a fist came flying towards his face, Ray's head snapped back and he fell through the door into his room. Lee charged in after him jumping over his team mates fallen body in his haste.

"MARIAH?" he yelled, there was a figure on the bed hearing his voice the figure jumped up drawing the blankets around her.

"Oh shit" Mariah was shocked "Lee look, calm down"

Lee charged forward and pulled her from the bed, she shrieked and grabbed the blankets again trying to cover herself, Lee stopped just long enough to let her pull on a bathrobe and dragged her out of the door.

Ray managed to push himself up from the floor but he was seriously disorientated as he called after them.

Mariah felt mortified as she was being dragged back to her room, Lee yelled all the way saying things that were insulting and cruel. He was angrier than she had ever seen him before and she actually felt a little afraid. Doors on all sides opened and sleepy heads poked put to see what the commotion was. Lee's shouting was so loud that Mariah was pretty sure everyone could hear what was going on.

--

It was six am and Kai was enjoying the silence that came with being the only person around, he was on his way to awaken his team for training when he spotted a magazine. There was a large front page spread about Mariah and Ray, Kai smirked secretly amazed at how quickly gossip magazines could be printed.

He reached Tala's door and knocked.

Kai couldn't help but sigh as he looked at his team mates, they all looked more than a little worse for wear and he knew why.

It wasn't hard to work it out, they had all slept in and from the way Bryan Ian and Spencer had snuck quietly out of their rooms Kai could tell they had no intentions of being honest with the girls they had obviously left behind or letting them down gently. Tala had taken longer and Kai was relieved that at least this team mate had some idea (however vague it might be) of how treat girls.

"Have fun last night?" Kai asked sarcastically

"Chill Kai" Bryan said running a hand through his hair

"Yeah and stop talking so loud" Spencer held his fingers to his temples and gently massaged them

"Hung-over are we?" Kai spoke a little louder, he was obviously enjoying his teams suffering

"Kai can we just go train?" Ian moaned dry swallowing a couple of pills.

Kai sighed, he had heard the commotion last night and now his team were going to be in bad shape. It was going to be a long day

--

Mariah awoke early the next morning, for a moment she felt fine, then it all came crashing back she lay in her bed groaning, she didn't want to get up, she didn't want to have to face the world. She would lie here all day no matter what happened, she would lie in this bed she wouldn't eat or drink and soon she would be dead. Yes that was the plan just lie here until she died from dehydration, it sounded much easier than facing the world. She wouldn't answer the door she wouldn't answer the phone she would just lie here.

On the bedside table her phone began to ring, she jumped up and grabbed it, and then groaned again, so much for staying in bed and doing nothing, caller ID said Hilary.

Well Hilary couldn't know what had happened could she? The grapevine didn't stretch to Japan, so she answered. "Hey Hil's"

"Mariah is there something you want to tell me?"

OK that was odd, how had Hilary found out already? Unless Ray had called her.

"Not really, dare I ask why?" she asked as cheerfully as she could, there was a laugh on the end of the line

"OK put your computer on and go on the internet, go straight to you tube and search for you and Ray" Mariah did as she was told "are you on youtube?"

"Yes why what's go…. Oh god" there it was, the most popular video of the day, a video of Lee dragging her down the corridor shouting the odds. The footage was good and the sound excellent Lee calling her a slut, telling her she would never see Ray again asking her how many other guys she was sleeping with.

"_smiffyizdabest_ says that you and Ray are 'a really sweet couple' isn't that nice?"

"Stop enjoying this!" Mariah moaned

"Wait there's another good one _actress4eva07_ gives it 5 stars and says 'Take a chill pill Lee!!' Mariah I told you two to be careful"

"I thought you meant protection!"

"I meant that I'm not there to cover for you this year."

"Yeah well that's the last time I use Matilda as an alibi!"

"What are you going to do?"

"Well I have a sort of plan" Mariah told Hilary what she had decided lying in bed this morning,

Hilary laughed "Well as fun as eventual death by dehydration sounds, Mariah honey you have no option but to just let this whole thing play out. Go out there and just do your thing."

"Hil I need a friend"

"You have a lot of friends there with you,"

"I know, but I need a good friend" Mariah sniffed again

"I wish I was there I really do"

--

Hilary sighed as she hung up the phone, she was sitting at the dining room table, her eldest cousin Shane sat across from her calmly eating breakfast.

"Problems?" Shane brushed his long brown hair out of his eyes and smiled, the other cousins had all gone home now, back to their families and jobs.

"Nothing you can help with" Hilary took a sip of coffee she didn't need to be awake yet really, she was due to start work in five hours and had nothing to do all morning. She mentally cursed Kai and Hiro, both boys had always insisted on having her there for early morning practices, why she would never know, but now she always seemed to wake automatically at six every morning no matter how late she had gone to bed.

"Hilary come on, I always help you!"

"Like when you told Grandpa that me hanging out with beybladers was causing me to be a 'tomboy' or how about when you decided to tell him I wanted to be a doctor."

"Hilary Grandpa cares about you and he wants you to have a job that's safe"

"And being a doctor is so dangerous? Oh yes I forgot being a doctor is a lot more dangerous than being a...a grand prix race car driver was it?" Hilary's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she said this

"Hey I didn't crash!" he defended himself "and it was just a one time thing!"

"I just want to be a doctor Shane, I want to help people."

"You can help people without being a doctor, your teachers said that you could have a great career in law"

"Oh yay!" Hilary stuck her tongue out at Shane "perhaps I could help some nice rich person get a divorce, what a great way to give something back"

"You don't have to be a divorce lawyer, you could specialise in tax law or land law"

"Helping the rich again, look I'll become a lawyer if I can be a public defender helping the poor when they need me."

"That's not how it works Hil, not with grandpa."

"I know and that's why I'm not at the championship this year, I need to make some serious money for next year"

"What do you mean?" Shane gave her a worried look

"I mean that I will not become one of Grandpa's drones just doing what he tells me to, I'm saving up so that next year I can start to put myself through med school"

"You'll never save enough"

"Then I'll get another job, Shane can you honestly tell me you like being part of the family company, you're unable to do what you want, you're controlled by Grandpa. And don't get me wrong I love grandpa but I want to be my own person... Is it true that he gives you guys a house when you get married?"

"Yeah, his way of ensuring the family line, god knows why he wants more family but he does! He even has a thing that when you have your first child you get a sort of grant a payment to 'help you pay for what the baby needs' he loves his great grandchildren."

"Shane it feels so imprisoning sometimes, I'm sure he doesn't see it that way but that's how it feels. I want to do all this by myself"

"You always were brave and independent." Shane gave his cousin an admiring look he was thirty three and she was seventeen, already she seemed to be stronger than he was, more zealous than any other member of the family. No one in the Tatibana line had ever tried to leave the family company, there was no real need to. The business covered many aspects and there were many fields of work. Their grandfather Horatio Tatibana by keeping his sons and grandsons working in the most prominent positions had managed to keep the company united and exactly the way he wanted it.

"You know me Shane, I've wanted to be a doctor ever since I can remember, I took every first aid course that I could, when I was ten I already knew what all of the bones in the body were called, I studied degree level books when I was thirteen and understood them." Hilary sighed "I was always obsessed with studying, then I met the guys and well my studies kind of took a back seat but thanks to the many dangerous situations we got into I still managed to practice my first aid."

"It can be a dangerous job depending on what department you want to work in"

"I'd be in the emergency room, that's the kind of work I'd love"

"Well that's the worst place, Hilary do you know how many ER doctors get attacked?"

"Shane the ER in real life is nothing like the TV show ER, first off there are very few hot doctors"

"You're not taking this seriously"

"Shane I'm working over fifty hours per week this summer, trust me I'm serious about it"

"fifty hours a week?" Shane was shocked, "Hilary come on I'm sure Grandpa would pay for your fees if you asked him properly"

"You mean if I signed my soul over to him"

"Hilary!"

"You and I both know that Grandpa would only give me the money I need if I signed an agreement to work in some private capacity, connected somehow to the company,"

"That's not true!"

"Even Dante and Mac's dancing stuff is funded by Tatibana Inc."

"I guess you're right, even my racing contract was with a car sponsored by Tatibana Inc."

"And now you work where exactly?"

"In the motoring department at Tatibana Inc" he admitted, Hilary smiled sympathetically at him and took another drink from her mug.

"Shane I have to do this, the only person I'm really gonna hurt asides from Mariah right now, is grandpa and he'll get over it."

"As long as he doesn't have a heart attack over you working in the ER" Shane gave her a glimmer of a smile as he considered her future.

"If he does I'll know how to give him CPR until the ambulance arrives"

--

"Mariah?" Matilda was standing outside Mariah's room, she was knocking on the door and had a newspaper folded under her arm "Mariah please open up!"

The door opened and a sadly tearstained White Tiger stood at the door

"Hi Mattie" Mariah sniffed biting into a bar of chocolate, Matilda decided to let the use of her least favourite nickname slide.

"I am so sorry" Matilda gave the girl a hug "You should have told me, I would have been more careful"

"It could have been worse" Mariah sighed

"How?" Matilda asked as she handed Mariah the paper she had picked up that morning.

Mariah took the paper and looked at the front page, it was a picture of her and Lee, inside there were various grainy pictures of her and Ray.

"Good point" Mariah walked back into her room and pulled open her mini bar, she took out another bar of chocolate and began to eat. Matilda followed the girl in and was about to shut the door when Ming Ming and Julia came running in.

"Oh Mariah!" Julia exclaimed "how come you didn't tell us you were with Ray?"

Mariah finished her chocolate in record time and grabbed another bar

"Mariah put down the chocolate and walk away" Matilda joked

"You have so much to live for" Ming Ming said with a grin

"Not any more I don't!" Mariah threw herself face down into the pillow, the girls looked at each other and then sitting around her began to comfort her.

--

Voltaire sat in his cell, in front of him rested a half finished game of chess. He contemplated his next move, if he moved his knight and continued on the course he had intended, in a few moves it would leave his queen in a vulnerable position.

"Hey Hiwatari" the guard slammed open the door "your visitor is here."

Voltaire didn't bother to look up, he only ever had one visitor so he knew who was coming.

The guard moved aside and a tall man with long grey hair and ruby red eyes, the man wore a charcoal grey tailored suit. Voltaire smiled as his guest sat down thought their outfits were a similar colour they couldn't be more different, Voltaire Hiwatari wore a scruffy grey shirt and ripped trousers but he sometimes got the feeling that his clothes were only grey through their constant wear and tear. He couldn't even remember what colour the outfit had originally been.

"Hello Voltaire" the man ran a hand through his hair and looked at the board, checking that nothing had been moved

"Horatio Tatibana" Voltaire watched as his old friend started to consider the board "my move I think"

Voltaire's hand hovered over his knight for a moment and then picking up his rook he moved it across the board and then crossing his arms sat back smiling. Horatio leant forward and surveyed the game carefully

"How's it been?"

"Oh the usual, the food and bathroom facilities are quite below par but I'm almost used to it now. How's you family?"

"Growing" Horatio sounded proud "My grandson Dante's wife had a baby last week"

"Let me guess a boy" the two men laughed

"Yes another boy"

"It would seem that, the Tatibana curse has continued, very few female members."

"As yet only Hilary" Horatio nodded "and she has become the most independent of all my grandchildren"

"How so?"

"She wishes to become a doctor and when I didn't approve and threatened to cut her off she just didn't care. She's working as a waitress in order to pay for it all."

"You sound proud?" Voltaire was curious, he knew his friend liked the control he had over his family.

Horatio thought about it, why was he so proud that his granddaughter openly rejected all he offered her? In a way Hilary was stronger than the others, she had opinions on everything from beyblading to sweatshops. She voiced her opinions and refused to be told anything, not that she disobeyed the rules she was a good girl obeying her parents, but always seeming to get into things he didn't like. He had always taught her that beyblading was a waste of time, but now she was best friends with the worlds top players.

Hilary was also the smartest of the grandchildren with good grades at school, she had rarely gotten anything below a B. Not to mention being class president and student body president.

"Strangely enough I am proud of her, the boy's were all willing to take my money but she wants to make it on her own" Horatio sat back a strange smile on his face "I know she doesn't remember what we did to her as a child, but she has an independent streak. Rather like your grandson only a little less destructive. Anyway on with the game" He made his move, sliding his pawn forward

"A rather pointless move" Voltaire sneered at the board

"Not really, and actually I've been wondering about how it would be if we were to play this game in a different setting"

"A different setting?"

"Somewhere outdoors maybe"

"You know I'm not allowed to leave this cell unless I'm taken by a guard"

"What if that wasn't the case?"

"Meaning?" Voltaire moved forward and listened intently

"Meaning that the police are after Niall Barnes"

"Niall? What for?"

"He had some dealings with some pretty dodgy people and now the police need something on him. We can give them that something in return for getting you out of here"

"They can't want him that badly!"

"He's wanted in connection with three murders, one on a police officer. They'll give us anything if it means taking him down."

"So I could get out of here?"

"You and I could be sitting playing this game in your wonderful gardens by next week" Horatio sat back and looked his friend up and down "maybe with a slight change of wardrobe as well."

* * *

Ok so Hilary's grandfather and Kai's grandfather are friends, and Voltaire could be about to get out of jail.

I'm sure we all know that means trouble for the beybladers.

I'll update as soon as I can! Wish me luck with my exams!

Please R&R!


	8. Max's distress

Hi everyone!

This is a quick addition to the story as it's bank holiday monday and I decided to take a quick break from revision.

The other reason I am adding this is because something interesting happened today one of my friends found my fanfics, what can I say? Half an hour later she was still laughing! My friends are mean :-(

Any way she read my first story and this story so far and was kinda nice about it, what she did ask me was why didn't I add more to the scene with Ray and Mariah . She wants me to add lemons, well I can't write lemons!! I may add a lime or two here and there but there's no way can I write lemons. I've read stories with those sorts of scenes and when they aren't well written they're just embarrassing really.

OK people opinions?

Anyway on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade!

* * *

It was lunchtime but Emily had not gone with the other All Starz to eat, she was pacing up and down in the laboratory feeling annoyed and upset.

"Are you OK Emily?" Michael gave his team-mate a worried look

"Michael!" Emily was surprised to see him, she had thought she was alone "Fine why do you ask?"

"Because you're doing that pacing thing again, the one where you mutter to yourself as you walk up and down trying to solve the problem." Michael smirked and crossed his arms

"It's nothing" Emily tried to wave his questions aside

"Em it's me" Michael sat down on the nearest stool and pulled out the one next to it for her to sit on "you always talk to me"

"That's true" Emily smiled and sat down "You know me far too well…, it's just this competition is getting me down, I've lost all my battles so far and it just feels like maybe I should give up!"

"You are kidding right? Emily the people you were up against had skills and power far above yours and you still put up one hell of a fight."

"I just feel so worthless"

"Hey" Michael put an arm around the girl comfortingly "don't be silly, have you talked to Max about this?"

"Are you kidding me, talk to constantly upbeat, never miserable Max about feeling depressed?" Emily giggled "I don't think he even knows what the word means"

"True" Michael laughed as well "but you ought to try"

"I know it's just there are some things I don't want to share with him"

"He's your boyfriend Em, you should want to tell him everything"

"I know" Emily sniffed as she said this, Michael seeing her tears put his other arm around her and hugged her close, the two of them sat like that for a while. Finally Emily wiped her tears away and looked up into Michaels' eyes. Neither of them realised what was happening until it was too late, they're lips met and the two of them kissed passionately.

By the time it registered for either person Michael had stood and had lifted Emily off the stool and into his arms while she ran her fingers through his long hair. They pulled apart and stared at each other they didn't know what to say,

'oh my god, I kissed Michael, Max is my boyfriend and I kissed Michael. That was wrong wrong wrong!' Emily closed her eyes as she tried to quiet the voice inside her head.

'I kissed Emily, I really shouldn't have done that! I mean OK so I like her, but she's seeing someone else' Michael was getting angry with himself

'Michael must think I'm such a slut, what do I do? What do I say? Then again it's not like he tried to stop it.'

'She's seeing Max, I mean he's like the last person in the world that you ever want to be mean to. Of course it's not like Emily tried to stop it, so what do I do now?'

They both opened their eyes and looked at each other for a split second Emily thought about running but then she looked directly into Michaels concerned eyes and that was it, raising her face she crashed her lips into his. Michael was shocked as Emily made her move, he wasn't shocked for long and soon the two of them resumed their activities.

"EMILY?" they froze, outside the room Judy Tate was calling for Emily

Emily and Michael had just enough time to break apart before Max's mother entered the room.

"There you are" Judy didn't seem to notice that the two teenagers in front of her were looking at the ground ashamedly "Emily I was hoping you'd help me to tune up Draciel for Max"

"Sure" Emily practically ran from the room, Judy smiled as she watched the girl go, thinking that it was nice that her son's girlfriend was so keen to see him.

--

Hilary and Shane were sitting at the table, she was reading a book about new medical procedures and he was proofreading a document about the mechanics section of Tatibana Inc. they had often sat like this recently, the two of them just reading silently. Shane looked up at his cousin and smiled

"Hilary?"

"Yeah?" she didn't even bother to look up and continued reading as she listened

"It looks like I'm going to have to go to Germany tomorrow"

"Oh" Hilary's head snapped up, she tried to hide her disappointment but failed miserably, the rest of her cousins had left over a week ago and for the last few days the two of them had been living quite happily. She knew that he had to go back to work but the house would be lonely. Usually when she had been left alone she would go and stay with Tyson and his family, they were always willing to have her but now Tyson and all her friends were in America for the preliminaries even grandpa had gone this time.

"Grandfather needs me there." he looked a little annoyed as he said this, Hilary grinned she knew that her grandfathers request just further proved her point that he seemed to control them "You could come with me" Shane offered

"I have to work" Hilary grimaced, she knew that now they'd start their regular argument

"You don't **have** to, you could just…."

"Please Shane, not this again" Hilary closed the book she had been reading and smiled at him "anyway I have to stay, the local college have set up a part time chemistry course and I've already paid for it"

"Chemistry? I thought it was biology you wanted to study."

"I'm interested in chemistry too!" Hilary laughed at his expression, she knew that she was the geek of the family, at school and college her family had, had a bad reputation, her cousins were all tough and studied martial arts in their spare time. They weren't bullies but they were feared, when her brothers had left the school she had worried that she would have trouble from the other kids but some of the fear had remained only Tyson was unafraid and dared to tease her. None of the family had been good students in fact teachers had often joked that it was a good thing that there was a family business because none of them had the grades to make it on their own. Even the two that were professional dancers had a bad guy reputation. Hilary smiled it wasn't that she couldn't fight like them it was just that she enjoyed studying, she liked to learn!

"Will you be OK though? I don't like to leave you here alone"

"Andy installed a new security system before he left, don't worry I'll be fine"

--

"Kai, Kai?" the reporters surrounded the angry Russian, "we want to ask you about your reaction to the scandal involving Mariah and Ray of the White Tiger X?"

Kai had just finished an exhausting battle and the last thing he wanted to do was answer a load of questions about his friends private lives.

"Kai can we get a quote please?"

"Kai how are you feeling after the battle?"

"Kai do you have a girlfriend?"

"Kai is it true that the Blitzkrieg Boys are sneaking fan girls into their rooms?"

"Are you a virgin?" the onslaught of questions continued, finally Kai turned to face the people behind him. With an evil smile (that if any of his friends had seen they would have run) and a quick jab of the hand he broke the nose of the nearest reporter, with a sly kick he winded the nearest photographer and sent him flying. Another reporter came forward threatening and was dropkicked back into the crowd.

There was silence.

"Anyone else got any questions?" more silence followed Kai's question "Thought not!" and with a smirk he walked away.

--

Voltaire Hiwatari smiled as he looked at the paper in his hand, it looked like Kai was as destructive as ever. He read the article thoroughly and looked through the pictures, he had been enjoying the chaos that the competition had descended into this year. He greedily read every rumour filled article like a teenage girl reading gossip magazines, he loved how all the people who had helped to bring him down were now suffering.

"Hiwatari!" The guard called out, Voltaire stood obediently and watched as an officer came in and cuffed him. He was led out of the cell and into an interview room where three police officers stood waiting for him.

Voltaire smiled again he had missed being a successful business man and now for the first time in years he was about to cut a very good deal.

--

Mr Dickenson sat in his office looking at a paper and feeling unhappy, after the White Tiger X scandal Mr Dickenson had set the rooms up differently, now every team had one suite, there was a kitchen/living area in the centre and it had five bedrooms leading off it. This meant that it was harder for anyone to sneak around and easier for the teams to spend time together. Unfortunately this scheme didn't seem to work Ray was still being isolated by the White Tigers so much so that he had been given his own room away from his team and the Blitzkrieg Boys were still bringing girls home.

The old man felt tired, it had been a tough job to resurrect the BBA after BEGA had taken over and now all his hard work seemed to mean nothing. He felt old and tired

"Hey Mr Dickenson!" Hiro strolled into the office looking concerned "Are you all right?"

"Fine my boy, just fine" he threw the newspaper down in an annoyed manner

"The Kai thing right?" Hiro asked sympathetically

"Yes, I thought I could at least depend on him for some decorum. He doesn't usually react to things like that."

"Well they were asking some unnecessary questions"

"That's not the point" Mr Dickenson hit the table with his fist "these teams have been in the competitions for years, they should know better"

"Mr D" Hiro was surprised by the mans sudden outburst of anger so he said calmingly "come on at least the Blade Breakers and the PPB All Starz aren't giving us any trouble"

"Yes" Mr Dickenson nodded "I guess I can depend on them to set a good example"

--

"Nice going Michael!" Max high-fived his friend as he returned from the dish, Michael had just been battling Enrique of the Majestics and he had seemed to make easy work of his win.

"Thanks" Michael grinned at his team-mate and immediately felt bad, his betrayal with Emily was still haunting him and he wished Max would be mean just once so that it would be easier to deal with. But Max was too nice he never had a bad word to say and always looked for the good in people. "I'm going to get some rest"

"Do you think he's OK?" Rick asked as they watched him walk away

"Sure" Max was looking over at the dish where Johnny was making his way to the edge "I guess I'm up,"

"Good luck kid, don't mess this up"

"No problem" As he walked up to the dish he thought about Michael and wondered if Rick was right, Michael had been acting weird recently, it was probably the stress he decided. Oh well Emily was up in their suite she'd soon cheer him up, he grinned happy that Michael and Emily would probably talk and when he and Rick got to the room Michael would be cheerful again.

"Ready to go?" Johnny asked

"ALWAYS" Max loaded his beyblade into his launcher and stood ready.

--

Hilary had just got to her front door when the phone inside began to ring, she fumbled with her keys and managed to get in and answer the phone by it's eighth ring

"Hello?"

"Hilary?"

"Emily?" Hilary was surprised Emily rarely rang her these days, she assumed that it was a case of out of sight out of mind, that and Emily's relationship with Max was probably meaning she spent her evenings with him "Hi Em, how you doing?"

"I'm good" Emily didn't even attempt to sound convincing as she said this

"Ok" Hilary gave an amused sigh and sat down beside the phone "spill, what's wrong"

"Well" Emily paused, she couldn't tell Hilary the truth, Hilary and Max were good friends "I have this friend…."

"Em, come on what's wrong?" Emily could hear the brunette laughing as she interrupted her, obviously the whole 'I have this friend' ploy wasn't going to work.

"I kissed someone" she blurted it out and immediately regretted it, there was a long silence.

"I see" Hilary thought for a moment obviously Emily was cheating on Max, this was a tough one "how many times?"

"Technically five, but only on two occasions"

"Right" Now Hilary didn't know what to do, Emily and Max were both her friends she couldn't choose one over the other and Emily needed help. Then again Emily was in the wrong Max was going to be so hurt by this.

"Hil I don't know what to do" Emily sat on the sofa next to the phone and buried her head in the cushions "I messed up, twice"

Hilary decided to help Emily, after all she was asking for help and Hilary wanted to encourage her friend to be honest and do the right thing.

"Em look, yeah….you messed up the important thing is, how are you going to fix this?"

"I don't know" Emily wailed down the line, "what would you do?"

"Well you need to tell Max what's happened but before you do that, you need to decide which guy you want to be with. I'm assuming it's only one other guy and that it's a guy."

"Of course it's a guy, and it is only one guy."

"Who's the guy?" Hilary's curiosity was getting the better of her and she really wanted to know who was cruel enough to try to get between the sweet couple.

"Michael," Emily whispered down the line

"Really?"

"Yeah,"

"Michael but...Ok never mind um, so... which one do you want to be with?"

"I don't know, they're both so different, Max is sweet and caring and kind but Michael gets me, sometimes he gets me better than I do myself"

"Well then much as I hate to say this, I think you just decided who you want to be with."

"Michael" Emily whispered again

"This is gonna hurt Max" Hilary sighed heavily, much as she liked Emily, right now she wanted to claw her eyes out.

"I'll try to be gentle"

"Do that, well I'll see ya" Hilary hung up and groaned, she then picked up the phone and dialled Rick's mobile number, she got no response and so hung up again. She wanted to do something for Max but she was just too far away.

--

"Bye" Emily whispered to the dialling tone, she hung up the phone and resting her elbows on her knees buried her head in her hands.

"So I get you better than you do yourself?" Emily gasped and jumped up

"Michael what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the stadium" he had obviously heard her conversation with Hilary, she hadn't even been aware of his presence in the room

"So were you" Michael moved forward and took Emily's hands in his "So I get you better than you do yourself?"

"Shut up" Emily sighed and allowed the older boy to pull her into a tight embrace "yeah you get me"

"Just like you get me" Michael kissed her forehead "so what happens now?"

"I'm going to break up with Max, if you want me to"

"Em, I don't want to hurt him……..but I do want to be with you"

"We have to tell him, it'll hurt for a while but he'll be OK"

"Will we be?" they pulled away from each other and Michael searched Emily's eyes, she smiled at him

"I think so" that was the only answer she could give. He grinned back at her and slowly lowered his lips onto hers.

--

Max and Rick smiled at each other as they walked into their suite, they had just won their last preliminary in this round and were going to be travelling to Italy in just a few weeks. Things were looking good!

"Shall we get the others to come for a celebratory meal?" Max looked over to Emily's door with a smile

"You mean shall we go get your girlfriend so we can celebrate this with her?"

"Well kinda" Max scratched the back of his neck in an embarrassed sort of way.

"Max it's OK that you want to celebrate with her!" Rick often teased Max about his relationship with Emily but he could see that the boy was crazy about the girl. It didn't seem to him to be a long term lasting thing but Max was happy and if Max was happy they had a better chance of winning.

Max made his way to Emily's room and knocked, there was no reply, this made Max curious he knew that Emily had come back here earlier. He was sure that he had heard something behind the door, he thought for a second and then opened it.

"Max!" Emily gasped as she jumped up,

"Oh no" Michael followed suit as he leapt off the bed where he and Emily had been lying

"Max it's not what it looks like" Emily tried to explain

"You know something" Max said in an angry voice "for a genius you're really dumb if you think you can get away with saying a line like that."

Max turned and walked away, he was determined not to cry. Rick who had heard all this came forward and seeing what was going on and noticing his young partners face put an arm around his shoulders. Rick gently led the young American out of the suite down the hall to where the Bladebreakers were staying.

"Max? Rick? What's happened" Tyson was surprised to see Max looking so upset after all they had just won their last match.

"You got a mini bar Tyson?" Rick gave the room a quick glance

"Yeah, over there it's Hiro's though we're not allowed to touch it,"

"Max here really needs a drink" Rick sat his partner down and mixed a quick rum and coke, he gave him the drink he then led Tyson to one side. "Emily and Michael" he explained shortly

"Oh shit" Tyson ran a hand through his hair, and sent a sympathetic look Max's way "when did that start?"

"Dunno" Rick angrily pounded his fist into his hand

"How did he find out?"

"Walked in on them in bed"

"Damn thats harsh, I can't believe they'd do that to him!" Tyson looked over at where Max sat staring out the window, he looked hurt and confused "Do you want to leave him here tonight?"

"Please, poor kid doesn't know what hit him." Rick looked over at the blonde blader with an almost fatherly air that made Tyson want to smile in spite of himself.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

--

Two nurses sat at the first aid point drinking coffee chatting about various things when Ian ran into the room holding a blood soaked sweater around his hands "Oh My God" one of them yelled as they both jumped up.

"Help" Ian exclaimed as he removed the garment

"What happened?"

"I don't know" he explained "I was just doing some laps when the bleeding started"

"Strange I don't see a wound" one of the nurses studied his hands confusedly

"It looks to be coming from under his finger nails"

Carefully the two nurses washed away the blood, for a while the bleeding refused to stop and they looked worried. Finally it came to an end and the two nurses washed the hands carefully.

"Do you have any idea how it started?" one of them asked

"No" Ian said shortly, now wanting to get away quickly.

"We ought to have you officially checked out"

"No!" he could see they were going to argue "Um, I have a personal doctor, I ought to see him"

"Oh" the nurses looked convinced and nodded.

Ian left feeling relieved, he couldn't believe how quickly they had accepted his lie. He didn't know what was going on, but no way was he going to a doctor. He was too strong to do that.

* * *

I know I'm an evil bitch, I always make poor Max suffer!!

I'll be back again when my exams are over!!

I just realised that I haven't been thanking you all for your lovely reviews, I do apologise and I am now thanking you all for the great reviews. I love to read them!

So that being said please, R&R


	9. Pulling Punches

Hi again people!

I am freeeeeeee! No more exams!!

Well until next year. I feel so exhilarated though, it's like my life is finally mine you know?

Ok I love this chapter, it's not brilliantly written but theres a bit in it that I have always thought would be very funny to see in real life so I added it here.

Thanks for the reviews!!

Last time I was on the site I discovered that my settings wouldn't allow anonymous reviews so I changed it to allow them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Emily and Michael walked down the corridor holding hands, they walked until they arrived outside of the Blade Breakers suite

"Do you want to knock?" Michael whispered

"No" Emily said shaking her head, Michael slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug.

"He'll forgive us, maybe not now but eventually" Michael gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and it was at that moment that the door opened.

"Max!" Emily gasped as she saw who had come to the door.

The door slammed shut again

--

"Hey Max what's going on?" Tyson was surprised by his friends actions "are we not going for breakfast?"

"Yeah I'm hungry" Daichi whined

There was a knock at the door

"Max" Emily called out "please open the door"

Tyson watched as Max's face hardened, he knew the young American well and knew he was trying hard not to cry.

--

Emily felt relieved as the door opened again but it was Tyson who stood at the door now.

"Tyson" Michael smiled at him "we want to talk to Max"

"He doesn't want to talk to you"

"Please Tyson" Emily begged "I just want to explain what happened"

"I don't think he wants to hear that right now"

"Tyson whatever happens we're a team we need…" Michael tried to say

"Max needs you two to go away and as for being a team, I know what it's like to feel stabbed in the back by your team mates"

"Max needs to hear us out" Emily pleaded "We know him and he needs to talk to us"

"You know him?" Tyson laughed at this "I've known Max longer than you two so get out of here before I hit you"

"Tyson" Michael laughed not believing him

"You think I'm joking don't you" Tyson's eyes darkened as Michael continued laughing

"Well come on Ty all we did was make a little mistake it's not worth hitting anyone over"

"A little mistake" Tyson sounded dangerous now

"Max'll get over it" Michael continued "we didn't do anything that wrong."

Tyson smiled, his hand was already into a fist. Before either Michael or Emily knew what was happening fist met jaw and Michael fell back almost knocked off his feet by the force of the punch.

Tyson smiled evilly and shut the door on them,

"You hit him?" Max asked amused, for the first time since he had arrived last night he was smiling broadly

"Yep" Tyson shook his hand, "damn that hurt"

"That was AWESOME" Daichi punched a fist in the air

"I wanted to hit him" Max said as he looked at his friend, Tyson grinnned

"Yeah well you gotta play today, I haven't my hand will feel fine before my next battle."

Max nodded a small smile on his face, "You're a good friend Tyson"

"The best" Tyson nodded, at that moment Kenny came from his room a laptop under his arm

"Hey Max, feeling OK?"

"Great! Tyson just…."

"I said I'd buy breakfast" Tyson cut in "nothing else happened chief nothing at all"

"Tyson?" Kenny sounded suspicious "what did you do?"

"He hi..." Daichi was cut off by Tyson's hand on his mouth,

"Gotta go, can't be late, can't miss the buffet, whatever anyone tells you it's a lie, bye chief!" Tyson pushed Max and Daichi out of the room into the now empty corridor, hurrying away before they could be questioned anymore.

Kenny watched them go and shook his head, it looked like he and Hiro had some damage control to do.

--

Spencer stood in the locker room tuning up his beyblade, the last battle he had been in had really damaged his attack ring and he needed a new one. He was rummaging through his tool kit when he saw blood on his hands. He was surprised, he hadn't felt anything, why was he bleeding?

He pulled out his hands and looked at them closely, this was weird, his fingernails seemed to be bleeding. He ran to the sink and turned on the taps, he ran the water over his hands. The bleeding didn't stop and he felt panic grip him.

Running quickly Spencer made his way to the first aid point, there was a male doctor standing looking through some forms

"Doc?" Spencer said quietly

"Yes" the doctor looked up casually and immediately jumped into action when he saw the blood "sit down." he looked at the hands thoroughly and tried to find the source.

"I didn't feel anything"

"There's no cut"

"I know"

"It looks like it's coming through your fingernails."

"I know" Spencer tried to sound calm despite the fear turning his body cold.

"I don't understand"

"Well if you don't understand I don't know what I'm supposed to do"

"I mean it seems to have stopped"

"Oh" Spencer looked at his hands and realised the man was right.

"Look I better get this checked out for you"

"Um no" Spencer tried desperately to think of an excuse "I… I…. have an important appointment with a….a…. specialist who's going to give me a check up….it really wouldn't be worth you checking it out."

Spencer practically ran from the room in his bid to get away without a check up. He didn't want to be pulled from the competition and he didn't want to have everyone know the truth about him. By letting people know what he was like he could betray the Blitzkrieg Boys.

The doctor watched him go, he was sure that the boy was lying but he couldn't push it, he made a quick note in the first aid log book

_June 14th: Unexplained injury_

_Spencer: Blitzkrieg boys - unexplained bleeding from fingernails, no urther action._

and then forgot about it. What he didn't notice as he made the note was the entry a couple of lines above.

_June 12th: Unexplained Injury_

_Ian of Blitzkrieg Boys - bleeding from fingernails, no sign of actual injury, no further action. _

--

Max, Rick, Tyson, Kenny and Daichi were leaving the beystadium with a triumphant air. Both Rick and Max had just won their last match and the five of them were going to go celebrate together. Max smiled as he walked down the corridor, it was good to be hanging out with two of his oldest and best friends again. Rick was happy to be in the company of the Blade breakers, he got on quite well with them and he had loved that Tyson had hit Michael!

As they carried on all chatting happily about battles past present and yet to come the Blitzkrieg Boys caught up with them. They all exchanged semi-friendly 'hello's' and 'Hn's' (Ok we all know who said Hn!!) and ended up walking from the building together. Outside the press crowded around them trying to get decent photos and yelling to them asking questions that none of them felt in the mood to answer. Max managed to ignore the comments about Michael and Emily, Tyson kept his head down when Michaels black eye was mentioned, Tala didn't react to comments about his genetic engineering and even the other Blitzkrieg Boys didn't respond to the things said about girls.

It looked as though they were about to successfully get away from the crowd without having to resort to violence when one of the reporters yelled out

"Daichi! Is it true your father almost killed some of his workers on the site in the accident when he died?"

There was a chilling silence.

As he looked at his team mate Tyson realised that he had not been previously aware that Daichi could get so angry that his face went the same colour as his hair!

With an ear-splitting yell that almost sounded like a way cry Daichi turned to the guy who asked the question and launched himself through the air and landed hanging around the mans neck. Daichi was punching, scratching, biting and kicking the man and soon the reporters on either side tried to pull the angry blader from his victim.

Unfortunately for the two would be heroes Daichi carried on clinging to the man and managed in his rage to kick out at both men causing them to fall back.

Soon others got involved trying to get Daichi to stop but they all ended up getting hurt, one of the photographers got hurt and lost his temper

"Brat" the man lifted his hand and swung at Daichi.

The others had been watching some with amazement some with amusement, but the minute that Tyson saw Daichi was going to get seriously hurt he shot himself into the battle.

"Now this reminds me of home" Rick grinned as he watched the fight start to increase in size, the other members of the press seeing Tyson join in began to get serious now.

"Gotta say" Tala nodded "It's damn good entertainment"

"We can't just stand here" Kenny wailed

"Why not?" Bryan asked smirking

"Oh never mind" Kenny put down his laptop "watch this for me"

Before anyone could stop him Kenny had thrown himself into the mass of bodies, Max immediately followed yelling "Kenny don't be stupid!"

"Hey Max!" Rick lost sight of the vibrant blonde hair for a second and with a regretful glance back at the others shrugged "Be right back!"

The White Tigers, The Majestics, F Dynasty, BEGA, Allied Adversaries and Team Reformation came out of the stadium and were shocked by what they saw. They stood all just staring at the chaos in front of them not quite sure how to react.

On the edge of the battle Kai could see Max get punched full force in the jaw, he sighed and picked up Kenny's laptop. Looking around he caught sight of the others and after thinking for a moment he walked over to Mariah

"Look after these will you Mariah."

It didn't sound like a question so the pinkette nodded "Um...sure thing Kai" Mariah took the laptop from him

"Thanks" Kai said and before he turned back to the fight, he pulled off his long scarf and handed it to the White Tiger. Mariah grinned to herself knowing full well that a less scrupulous person would be stright onto E-bay selling the scarf to the highest bidder.

With a look of slight annoyance Tala viewed Kai's actions, he knew what was coming next he rolled up his sleeves sighing "Come on guys! Looks like we're in!"

The other Blitzkrieg boys smiled, they liked a good fight whether it was beyblading or plain simple beating someones brains out.

Ray felt like laughing as he watched Kai and his team go in fists flying, if the reporters hadn't been so wrapped up in the fight many of them would have considered running but by the time anyone had noticed the new additions it was to late to get out.

For a moment it looked like the beybladers had the upper hand but a few more members of the press had turned up and soon the amount of paparazzi seriously outnumbered the bladers

"Lets get going" Lee said coldly

"I can't!" Mariah protested "I'm looking after this stuff for Kai!" At that moment Max and Kenny were thrown from the crowd, they fell on their backs but immediately scrambled to their feet. With a quick nod to each other they both without delay pitched themselves back into the insanity

"Mariah I want to get out of here now" Lee sounded fierce "This is not our fight!"

"It is now" Ray said and without a backward glance he threw himself into the mess, the other tigers watched as one of their best players entered the brawl.

Lee was furious as Ray joined in, he hated Ray right now but the last thing they needed was for Ray to hurt himself. The other teams all joined in and soon it was only the girls all watching the chaos unfolding.

"This is better than an action movie" Mariah said conversationally as she smiled at the girls around her, she looked at the new girl "You're Millie right?"

The blonde nodded shyly "Yeah"

"First year?" Ming Ming enquired

"Mm hm,"

"You'll enjoy it" Monica said with a smile. "It's not usually like this"

"Hey M&M" Mariah turned to Ming Ming "I was wondering where you got that nail varnish!"

The girls all stood around chatting and occasionally shouting out and encouraging their team mates until Hiro came outside

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON OUT HERE?" Hiro was in a towering rage and somehow upon hearing his voice the whole huddle froze. Everyone was looking very ashamed, it was odd to see that even the members of the press looked worried. Only Kai and Brooklyn seemed unconcerned as they stood and brushed off their clothes

"Something wrong Hiro?" Kai asked folding his arms

"EVERYONE INSIDE NOW!"

--

Hilary smiled as she left the table where she had taken an order, she was wearing her classic fake 'everything is lovely, I only live to serve' smile as she made her way through the dining room. On her way she passed a table of more than slightly drunk business men, they all made various lewd jokes and Hilary gave her typical fake giggle as she walked by. God she hated this work!

Once in the corridor to the kitchen the smile didn't disappear but she immediately turned down the wattage, her legs, feet, arms, head and cheeks ached. She walked into the kitchen "Another carbonara, one special and two duck" she called out to whoever was listening as she hung up the order on the board.

"You got it!"

"Hey Hils you should come see this" the sous chef was watching the news, he pointed to the screen and Hilary walked over to join him.

"Oh My God!" Hiary exclaimed as she looked at the screen.

The story was all about the fight and showed clear CCTV footage of the whole thing. It was obvious that Daichi had started it but Hilary knew that it had to be something bad for him to have reacted like he did. She knew that the young boy had a temper but recently (ever since being officially adopted by Tysons grandfather) he had become more relaxed and a little less likely to plunge into a battle without having a good reason first.

The screeen changed to show the people in the newsroom

"So what do you think Andy does it look like the BBA are going to be able to fix this one?"

"I don't know, to be honest I'm surprised that this years tournament hasn't already been cancelled. It's been a complete disaster this year and things don't seem to be improving."

"I gotta say I agree with you. Now onto..."

Hilary sighed as the story changed "I should be there, they need me to be out there" she whispered to herself.

"Hils? We need you out there" one of the other waitresses walked in surprising Hilary by unconsciously echoing her thoughts "Cal just spilt some red wine on someone"

"Right" Hilary plastered on her sympathetic smile and walked out, it was going to be a long night "why is nothing ever simple?" she whispered as she opened the door and faced the restaurant

* * *

Can I just say that until I came to I had no idea Kai's grunts were spelt Hn!

Oh the education I'm getting here!

Did you guess which bit I have always thought would be very funny to see in real life? It was the fight obviously! I'd love to see something like that!

You know what to do, R&R


	10. Desperation sets in

There's a bit in this chapter thats a bit like a review of previous chapters but I added it just to make sure that no one gets as confused by this story as I currently am!! It is kinda important to the story though.

This **is** a KaiHil story I promise it's just taking a while, I thought my last fic was long but it seems that this one is gonna be longer! In my first one I had them practically together by this chapter, in this fic they aint even on the same continent yet! Sorry to all those waiting for some Kai Hil lovin!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Ray watched as his team walked down the corridor, they were going to train and Lee had made it very obvious that he wasn't welcome. As the White Tigers continued moving away Mariah looked back and gave Ray a quick smile, Ray returned it but Lee immediately catching sight of this display of affection grabbed Mariahs wrist and pulled her away even quicker.

"Oh poor Ray"

Ray turned to find Ino a girl from one of the new teams watching him, she moved forward a sly smile on her face

"Hey Ino" Ray slightly naively smiled at the pretty brunette, "how's things going?"

"Good, but they could be even better" Ino stood right in front of the Raven haired blader making him feel uncomfortable

"Ino, I have to go" Ray pointed behind him with his thumb and started to move back

"Ray if you're feeling lonely I can help" Ino moved in for a kiss

"Thanks but no thanks" Ray backed away completely "Look sorry but Mariah and I are still kind of a thing"

"Well f you ever get tired of a cold lonely bed call me" the girl shrugged and walked away, Ray sighed with relief. He wasn't really used to having girls hitting on him like that. Ray made his way to the gym deciding to have a good workout, as he walked he realised something, Ino was very attractive but to him she was nowhere near as beautiful as Mariah. He had never even noticed that Ino was attractive before.

In the gym he asked Tyson for his opinion on his new discovery, Tyson laughed and told him

"Dude it's two things, one, you're whipped and two" he put a hand on his friends shoulder and smiled "two, you're in love."

--

"Did he go for it?" Lee asked as Ino walked past him

"Sorry no" the brunette held out her hand and Lee passed her some banknotes

"Thanks anyway" Lee muttered darkly he was annoyed that it hadn't worked, if he could prove that Ray was just messing Mariah around he would be totally justified in throwing him off the team.

--

It was the end of a long work day and Hilary was tired, she had just finished mopping the floor and decided to sit down to rest. She was a bit worried about the fight she had seen earlier, she wanted to know if anyone had been hurt and what was going to happen as a result. She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open, while the phone rang she put a hand up to her messy ponytail and let her hair fall down around her shoulders.

"Hello Hilary?" asked a familiar voice

"Hi Mariah" Hilary called down the phone

"Hi Hils, it's good to hear from you"

"Someything happen I should know about?" Hilary kicked off her shoes wriggling her toes enjoying the freedom her feet had now they were out of her painful stillettos.

"Same old same old, Max and Emily broke up and Daichi almost started a riot" Mariah smiled at the idea that starting a riot was same old same old.

"Yeah I heard, how's Max?" Hilary grimaced as she heard Mariah pause

"All things considered, he's not too bad, especially after Tyson hit Michael"

"What? Oh bloody Tyson!"

"Don't even try to pretend you're angry. You wish you were there!"

"True" She admitted "Anyway the news didn't mention it but did anyone get killed in the riot? Any reporters dead?"

"Don't think so…at least not yet anyway" Mariah yawned exhaustedly

"Mariah you sound tired, are you sleeping OK?" Hilary was worried about her friend

"Sort of," there was a sniff "Hil?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate it!" Mariah wailed unhappily

"Is it really that bad?"

"Mm-hm" Hilary could correctly envision her friend wiping away the tears and nodding "everyone's fighting now. The paparazzi are everywhere and they're driving us all crazy, ever since the Lee thing they've been watching us every second of the day. All the teams are having trouble and yesterday Lee hit a reporter"

"Really why?"

"Ray said something to him that he didn't like, Lee couldn't hit Ray because he was about to go battle, then Lee saw someone hiding, watching us so he hit him instead."

"Yes that sounds completely reasonable" Hilary said sarcastically and was happy to hear Mariah giggle on the other end of the phone

"Turns out he was a reporter doing a story on violence in the BBA"

"So he got a good story" Hilary laughed "I bet he got a payrise or something." There was a short silence until, Mariah yawned again

"Sorry Hils, I just feel so tired all the time."

"Have you been eating properly?"

"I'm not sure" Mariah sighed

"What did you eat today?" Hilary asked annoyed

"Um..., I don't remember. I just kinda forgot to eat..., it's no big deal, look I gotta go"

"Just promise me you'll eat something substantial" Hilary begged her friend

"Maybe"

"No not maybe, promise me!"

"Fine, Bye" Mariah sighed and quickly hung up the phone, looking in the mirror she could see that she had lost some weight she waved her hand aside, she would eat later.

Hilary hung up her phone and thought for a moment, she had seen Mariah's last battle and her friend had not looked good. Hilary made a decision she slipped on her shoes again and walked over to where her boss stood looking through paperwork.

"Bess?"

"Yes Hilary?"

"I'm handing in my notice."

--

Mr Dickenson sighed heavily, this year had been bad! Each team was experiencing problems and ever since the whole Lee Ray and Mariah thing they had been in every tabloid known to man. It wasn't just the White Tiger X team that was causing problems either, every team was wreaking havoc in their own special way.

Tyson had been out of control, his battles were dangerous no matter who the opponent was he went full force at them usually breaking their beyblade (he always argued that he was just living up to the team name). The team was ridiculously rude and had begun to shun their fans, After those comments from the press Daichi was completely uncontrollable and Kenny seemed to be spending more and more time in his room with his laptop.

Kai seemed to put all his anger into his battles this often meant that after a battle if someone said the wrong thing to Kai they would find themselves on the wrong end of the famous Hiwatari left hook. Ian, Spencer and Bryan were still sneaking fan girls into their rooms and then leaving them devastated next morning when they had no further interest in them. Tala was picking up girls too but though he never preyed on the innocent, kiss and tell stories were often sold to the highest bidder.

Max didn't seem as cheerful as he used to be, he and Rick still got along like they always had but the rest of the team were giving him a hard time. Emily and Michael had started officially dating now. Max refused to talk to them feeling betrayed. Because Max refused to forgive his team mates they started to get annoyed after all there are only so many times you can apologise, so arguments were usually the order of the day for the PPB All Starz. Judy Tate was close to quitting, it was all getting to be too much for her.

To say that Ray was at odds with his team mates, would be an understatement. The white Tigers didn't allow Ray to sit or train with them, Ray usually ended up eating and training with Tyson, this of course meant that they couldn't in all fairness battle each other officially as they were getting to know each others new moves to well. Lee had not said a word to Ray unless he was disagreeing with him, Mariah spent her nights crying and was usually too washed out to battle properly her lustrous pink hair was starting to look dull and her eyes lost their spark. Kevin and Gary tried to talk to Lee about this but he refused to listen.

Even the girls on the various teams were causing trouble, they were all having serious arguments usually over boys. One of the new girls was quite a stirrer and seemed to enjoy the trouble she was causing. The only teams that seemed in any way normal were the new teams but even they were having their problems.

"Mr Dickenson?" the old man looked up and smiled as he saw Hiro enter the room

"Hello Hiro, well what's gone wrong this time?"

Hiro paused feeling nervous, he hadn't informed Mr D about what had happened yesterday and he wasn't looking forward to telling him about it. "Um...I don't know if you saw the news last night"

"No, I've given up watching it, usually there is some trouble involving those kids and I just don't think I can handle it. Why what happened?"

"Well Daichi may have attacked a member of the press for asking about his father, which may have instigated several other reporters to join the fight, which may in turn have caused lots of beybladers to feel the need to help out." Hiro was feeling really sorry for the older man who sat at his desk looking very tired.

"So much for depending on the Blade Breakers and PPB All Starz to behave themselves, and yes Hiro I do know that it was Tyson that gave Michael that black eye." Hiro shrugged sheepishly "I wonder how much it'll cost us this time?"

"Mr D we need help!"

"I know we're not even into the serious rounds yet and it's already like this! I don't know what to do, I mean none of this happened last year. How can so much change in one year?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither. You know what?"

"What?"

"I'm thinking of calling in the army and asking them to control them. It sounds extreme but it's the only thing I can think of, we need reinforcements"

Something in the mans suggestion seemed to spark an idea in Hiro's mind, it made him think back to when Tyson had been babysitting Robin.

Reinforcements!

"Stanley" Hiro stood practically beaming at the older man "I know what the problem is, I just worked it out!"

"Well what do we do?"

"I'm gonna call the cavalry" and with that Hiro left the room with a new purposeful stride.

--

It was a couple days after the fight when Hilary stood at the till counting the days takings, she had just finished the notes and moved onto the change when she heard the door open.

"Sorry we're closed!" she called out without even looking up.

"Guh!" this little word caused Hilary to look up at the young boy who had uttered it.

"Arelam Robin!" Hilary moved around the counter and hugged them "What are you doing here? I thought you would be in America with Hiro"

"Not yet, we're flying out tomorrow, I went to spend a few weeks with my mother before we left" Arelam smiled at the younger girl, she and Hilary had always gotten on well. Arelam was not really into beyblading and the two of them would often escape from the beyblade side of their lives and go shopping or have coffee together.

"How is she?" Hilary pulled a face at Robin who immediately stuck his tongue out.

"She's fine but... it's not her I want to talk about." Hilary nodded and pulled out a chair for her,

"Sit there, you can talk while I finish cashing up." Hilary resumed her counting keeping one ear open to hear what Arelam had to say.

"Hilary have you been watching the news following the championship preliminaries?"

"Yeah, it looks pretty bad"

"It is, there are daily fights not just between teams but within the teams as well. There's all the other stuff as well, the press we're getting is awful, it could be the end of the BBA of Mr Dickenson, of beyblading!"

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Hilary it wasn't like this last year and Hiro thinks that its because of you. He knows that you used to do more than just training, he doesn't know how but he thinks you're the reason it was so peaceful last year. Hils if that's the case then the BBA needs you!"

"What do you want me to do exactly?" Hilary swept the change off the counter as she said this and placed it into a bag.

"I want you to come with me to America, we need you to do whatever it was that you used to do, you'll be well paid and the BBA will pay for all your flights and accommodation. Hilary please!" Arelam gave the girl a begging look,

At that moment Bess walked in, she was carrying a small gift bag. Hilary smiled as her boss walked up to her and presented her with the bag. "This is for you Hilary, we're going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too Bess and I promise to come in whenever I'm in town"

"Coffee's on the house!" They hugged and Hilary grabbing the bag and her jacket started to make for the door,

"Come on Arelam, lets go"

"What did she mean?" asked Arelam as the three of them made their way through the dark streets "why are they going to miss you?"

"Arelam I handed in my notice a week ago, just after I heard about Daichi trying to kill the paparazzi."

"So you're coming to America?"

"Yeah, I'm coming to America!"

* * *

So it looks like Hilary is about to be reunited with her friends! Yay!

It'll make the story easier to write and maybe read.

By the way Lee isn't evil or anything he just doesn't want Ray anywhere near his little sister!

R&R


	11. Problems Solved?

Thanks for the reviews!!

Also thanks to all the people who have favourited my story! I just realised that my story has been favourited a few times (I really need to pay more attention to my emails!!) so I thought I would thank everyone for that!!

I think this might be my longest chapter yet.

I do not own beyblade, or she's all that, or Freddie Prinze Jnr.

God I wish I did though!

* * *

Arelam and Hilary stood in the airport looking around, they were supposed to have arrived over three hours ago but due to delays, and a very cranky Robin things had been slow going.

"We're never gonna get there in time now" Hilary stamped her foot angrily on the ground as she spoke, "I don't believe this, where's Hiro?"

"He'll be here somewhere." Arelam tried to sound calm as she tried to hold onto the ever-struggling ever-wriggling Robin

"I know" Hilary walked over to Robin and held out her sunglasses, Robin was immediately interested in the glasses as he was usually forbidden to play with such things. "I just wanted to be there in time for the press conference"

"Things happen, we'll be there soon" Arelam sat down and began to play with Robin,

"I guess" Hilary sat next to her and tried to keep her temper.

--

The beybladers all sat on a stage in a large room facing the reporters. Mr Dickenson looked around nervously, Hiro wasn't anywhere to be seen and this worried the man.

All of the teams had made their official (and extremely fake) apologies to the press and were about to be asked questions.

Under the table Mr Dickenson crossed his fingers he looked over at the security guard standing to the left of the stage. The security guard nodded and moved into a more prominent position ready to jump into action.Three others from the security team noticed this and also moved forward. It was hard to get a lot of security personnel to the press conferences as usually the bladers had no qualms about hitting the security guards as well as the press or occasionally each other.

The questions started

"After all we do have to wonder if a human with genetic engineering is a fair contender in the tournament." It looked like the reporters were out to get Tala this time.

Mr Dickenson gave a prepared answer to this statement explaining that the other beybladers had all agreed that Tala was not a problem.

Unfortunately the offensive and pointless questions continued "We were also wondering if the rumours about Lee Wong not allowing Mariah Wong and Ray Kon to be alone together are true?"

There was a heavy silence following this question and so the reporter continued

"And the rumours about Ray Mariah and Ino in an open relationship stories of threesom…" the reporter never got to finish the question as Ray and Lee both leapt across the table. Both the boys had eyes full of hatred and the journalist grinned maliciously this was what sold papers, they were all imagining the headlines now 'More Brawling at the BBA' '**B**ABES **B**OYS **A**NARCHY?' 'What Will Happen Next at the BBA?'

Suddenly Lee and Ray were grabbed from behind, looking over their shoulders they discovered that a security guard stood holding them back,

"Get off me or I swear I'll kill you!" Ray hissed

"No you won't" whispered a very familiar voice, "don't give them the satisfaction guys" Ray and Lee turned. There was something very familiar about that guard. No one else had noticed it but Lee and Ray smiled grimly as they climbed back over the table and sat down calmly in their chairs.

"Any more questions?" Mr Dickenson asked tentatively

"Well we were wondering if the rumours that underage drinking…?"

"Stop right there" The security guard who had stopped Lee and Ray went forward. "Where did you hear this rumour?"

"A reporter never reveals his source"

"Well I'd like to direct your attention to article 448 paragraph 2 of the new agreement you all signed in order to come here today. 'Anyone making allegations against the competitors must have sufficient evidence that they are not asking ungrounded or unnecessary questions' it was put in to protect the bladers from lies now unless you all have proof that what you are asking is not entirely unfounded I suggest you shut up."

There was silence in the room finally one of the reporters from a sports magazine raised his hand, Mr Dickenson nodded to the young man.

"Kai, this is your sixth championship, surely you can't have any new moves?"

Now normally Kai sat through these things only nodding and refusing to string together more than three words but even he recognised that this could be the turning point for the year, a chance to get the press off their backs so he responded.

"You might think that yes, but we beybladers spend a good deal of our time coming up with new moves and new attack styles. I won't show you any new stuff just yet but I have a few tricks up my sleeve, for when I get to the final" A few chuckles followed this statement and everyone began to relax. After this the conference went well, intelligent questions were asked and for once the bladers felt that the people interviewing them might actually be more interested in their beyblading skill than their personal lives.

--

The beybladers all left the conference room and walked into a nearby boardroom for a quick talk as they usually did. Mr Dickenson followed them all in smiling for what felt like the first time in months.

Behind him Hiro and the security guard who had spoken in their defence entered the room chatting quietly.

"Now normally we come in here and I have to tell you all off for your discourteous behaviour, but I have to say I think that went very well" Mr Dickenson smiled around the room

"Thanks to him" Garland indicated the guard as he spoke "thank you we are very grateful!" The guard nodded but remained talking in an undertone to Hiro.

"What I don't get" Mariah said moving forward "is why Lee and Ray did what he said, normally if a someone tries to stop them they just knock him out"

Ray and Lee smiled at the guard ruefully "It's not like I didn't want to" Lee admitted

"There's just that old fashioned rule to consider, boys should never hit girls" Ray walked forward and to everyone's surprise enveloped the security guard in a hug "I missed you so much!"

"I know, I missed you too" and with that the 'security guard' removed 'his' hat and sunglasses. Ruby eyes blinked in the sudden light and brown hair cascaded down from the hat and bounced around Hilary's shoulders.

"Hilary!" there was a loud cry from her old team mates and the various friends she had made over the years, Hilary grinned and put her hands up protectively as Mariah closely followed by several others ran forward. There were squeals and a shouts as Hilary greeted her old friends.

Max was the first to reach her "Hilary" the two of them ran to each other and bumped noses, they both laughed as Max grabbed her into a bear hug

"I missed you Maxie! First thing tomorrow we are going for breakfast ok?"

"Sounds great" Max pulled out of the hug and grinned at her "I missed you, I really did!"

Tyson, Kenny and Daichi just stood completely dumbfounded "Speechless?" Hilary asked amazed "Well, this has to be a first!" Hilary enveloped her team in a hug and it was soon returned.

Kai stood next to his team-mates it was like he was frozen, he couldn't take his eyes off Hilary, she was practically glowing as she stood surrounded by friends. Kai felt an urge to join the circle of people surrounding Hilary but he did not, instead he stood with Tala and the others just watching.

Tala gave Kai a sneaking smile, he had watched Kai closely after Hilary had been revealed and he had seen the look of wonder on Kai's face, Tala had been amazed to see a smile flash across Kai's features, it was gone as quickly as it had arrived but in that split second Tala thought he saw the answer to all those questions he had been asking recently, was this why Kai had been so angry at the moment, was this why Kai had become even more withdrawn than usual. Was Kai in love with Hilary Tatibana.

Hilary moved away from her male friends and walked up to Mariah,

"I really missed you" Mariah bit her lip, she was determined not to cry

"I missed you too"

"I really wanted to see you so meech" Mariah was beginning to squeak, Hilary began to cry

"Mee too, ee reeeaallly thought eee" Mariah also broke down and the conversation became a series of unintelligable squeals that none of the males in the room found themselves able to understand. All the girls however began to get teary eyed at the obviously emotional and profound conversation.

"Hiro?" Mr Dickenson spoke loudly and soon the noise quietened down respectfully

"Yes Mr Dickenson?"

"You had better show Hilary to her room,"

"Yes sir" Hiro bowed respectfully and grinning turned to Hilary "ready to go upstairs?"

"Sure, oh… wait what room am I in?"

"Um…." Hiro looked down at his clipboard "suite 419"

"Great!" Hilary turned back to face the crowd "Girls my room 6:30? I have a full stock of Ben and Jerrys, and _She__'__s All That _on DVD" The girls all squealed enthusiastically and went off into trances thinking about Freddie Prinze jnr.

--

There was a knock at the door, Hilary looked at her watch and saw that it was only 5:13 someone was very early, she made her way over to the door and looked through the peephole,

"Tyson!" Hilary opened the door happily and let her friend into the room

"Hey Hil" Tyson scratched his neck shyly as he walked in

"What's up Ty?" Hilary smiled at the boy god she had missed him, she had missed them all, after all when Arelam had called she was already on her way and had jumped at the chance to be back with her friends.

"Well I knew that you'd have all the girls here soon and I wanted to talk to you before they all got here"

"What about?"

"Um…" Tyson trailed off he looked a little worried, he felt absolutely terrified, "I just thought that we could have dinner tomorrow"

"Oh…um Tyson" Hilary felt awful was he asking her out? Tyson was a good friend but she knew that she would probably never see him as anything more "tomorrow I was thinking about…." of for goodness sakes why couldn't she think of anything, she had a whole itinerary for tomorrow why couldn't she think of one single excuse. "You know what dinner sounds great!"

"Really?" Tyson looked thrilled "I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven?"

"Sounds Great!"

"See you tomorrow" Tyson made his way to the door

"Great!" Hilary closed the door behind Tyson and covered her face with her hands, oh god what had she done?

--

"Hi Hilary!" Julia stood at the door smiling, Hilary grinned and hugged her friend close, next to her stood Monica (Crushers sister) smiling happily.

"Julia Monica it's so good to see you!" It was at this moment that Hilary noticed a shy young girl standing behind them "and who's this?"

"This is Millie, she's from that new team, Team Reformation"

"Oh right! Hi Millie" Hilary smiled at the girl, she was a petite girl with vibrant blonde hair pulled back into a long braid, she looked young, about fifteen but Hilary knew she was actually seventeen.

"Julia said it was OK for me to come, I thought that maybe you'd just want your friends here."

"Of course not" Hilary gave the girl her brightest smile "all the girls are welcome!" Hilary let them into her room. The room was already filling up with girls Millie hung by the door she was a shy girl and not used to crowds.

"Are you OK?" Hilary stood next to the new girl "Want some phish food?" she offered up the ice cream tub and handed her a spoon

"Thanks," they both took a spoonful "it's nice to have a break from my cousins, I mean I love them but…"

"They're overprotective right?"

"Yeah!"

"How many cousins have you got?"

"Nineteen in all, only three of them are here though. Jerome Anthon and Peter they're my team!"

"Believe it or not I've got five brothers and thirty eight cousins"

"Thirty eight?"

"Yeah my dad was one of nine sons and my mum was one of six brothers and sisters. Almost all my cousins are boys though."

"Unlucky I've at least got quite a few girls to back me up." Millie smiled and as she did so Hilary noticed that her whole face seemed to light up, when she was nervous she looked plain and ordinary not unattractive but not gorgeous either. When she smiled though her eyes twinkled and her mouth appeared fuller somehow. She looked to put it plainly beautiful.

"I'll bet it's still chaos when you all get together!"

"Like a scene from a disaster movie!"

"Hey when do we start the movie?" Julia's loud voice interrupted she was flicking through Hilary's DVDs, "can we watch this one too?"

"Sure!" Hilary pulled Millie over to where she had set up some beanbags and cushions, they flopped down still eating ice cream. Ming Ming was sitting near Hilary and the two girls exchanged tentative smiles. Their old rivalry was long gone but the two girls were still a little awkward from time to time.

"Hey!" Hilary tried to think of something more to say "how's things?"

"Good,"

"Things are great Ino isn't here" Julia announced to the room, there were cheers from a few of the other girls Hilary looked around confused.

"Who's Ino?"

"She was the resident bitch this year" Ming Ming grinned as she said this "she took my place!"

"You weren't **too **bad last year" Hilary jokingly returned the girls smile "so what's up with Ino?"

"Her team were knocked out a little while ago, good thing too! She tried it on with every guy in the place" Mariah said this a little spitefully "I don't know why she bothers she's not even pretty"

"Let me guess Mariah, she tried to seduce Ray?" Hilary put on her most serious voice as she asked this.

"Just after the whole Lee thing" Mariah balled her hands into fists "Like she ever had a shot!" Hilary and the others exchanged amused looks before quickly agreeing that Ino was in the wrong and that she must be a bitch of the worst kind.

They started to watch the movies the artwork that came with the opening titles immediately caught the girls attention and they began to dig into the popcorn and other junk food. Under the noise of the movie Hilary leaned towards Ming Ming and whispered.

"Hey Ming Ming, when Mariah said that Ino tried it on with every guy did you really mean **every **guy?"

"Pretty much"

"Does she succeed?"

"Not really, apparently she was with most of the Blitzkrieg Boys, all of team thunderbolt, Enrique, Tyson..."

"Tyson?" Hilary cut in giggling

"Yep but she's gone now, her team got knocked out a little while ago"

"Oh well that means I won't have to pretend to like her"

"Like you do with me?" Ming Ming asked with a grin

Hilary nodded in mock seriousness "Yes like I do with you" giggling the two girls turned back to the movie in time to hear Freddie Prince jnr say

"_Hi Connie__"_

"_He spoke to me__"__ the girl on the screen sighed to her disgusted friend_

"_He called you Connie__"__ the girl__'__s friend said_

"_So?__"_

"_So your names Melissa!__"_

--

Mariah and Hilary were the only two girls still awake, the others were all lying around the room in sleeping bags or sharing blankets. They had all fallen into a sugar induced, coma like, sleep ages ago.

"I still can't believe your here" Mariah sighed as she scraped around the bottom of her ice-cream carton with a spoon.

"When Arelam told me that I was needed I was actually already on my way, the last time we talked on the phone you sounded pretty low."

"Yeah well things are tough! Lee watches me like a hawk, I haven't spent anytime alone with Ray in ages, even when we're with the team, when we talk they glare at us. I feel like everything we say to each other is being pulled apart and analysed just in case we're trying to make some sort of plan to meet up" Mariah wiped a tear from her cheek "the whole team seems on edge and if something doesn't happen soon we're gonna fall apart."

"I'll see what I can do" Hilary promised

"There's nothing you can do, there's nothing anyone can do!" Mariah wailed and she took a large mouthful of ice-cream

"Now there you're wrong! Ray and Lee have something in common and I know just how to sort all this out!"

"You do?"

"Mariah, since the 'incident' Ray and Lee haven't agreed on anything right?"

"Right, even if one of them is totally in the right the other one will go against it. The other day Lee declared that Ming Ming was an amazing singer just cause Ray told her to shut up. Lee hates her!"

"SHHH!" Hilary hissed angrily and glanced over at the sleeping blader, "I'm here to try to stop the arguments and she's not that bad these days! I actually got on with her last year"

"You mean after the catfight you two had"

"Nothing like a good brawl to clear the air" Hilary joked with a grin "You guys should all know that!"

"She still sings like a…."

"Stop right there, if you can't say nothin nice, don't say nothin at all! Anyway at the press conference today Ray and Lee did their first conjoined effort since the 'incident' whether they meant to or not!"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll sort it out tomorrow"

"Great!" She sounded happy but Hilary knew that Mariah was still upset. Well there was one way to cheer Mariah up, it was a risk but she'd take it.

"Mariah you know how you said that Lee watches you like a hawk?"

"Yeah!"

"Well he won't be tonight!" Hilary gave her friend a sly look as the pinkettes face visibly brightened. Hilary shook her head her friends were so obvious somtimes.

--

"I'm coming!" Ray yelled as he pulled himself from the bed, it wasn't that he was annoyed at being woken up! He hadn't been sleeping well since Lee had found out about him and Mariah he was just annoyed at being disturbed. He had found it impossible to sleep in that bed alone, strange how you get used to sharing a bed, you complain that the other person snores (Ray) or steals the covers (Mariah) and yet still when you try to go back to sleeping alone you miss it. He wondered who could be at the door and thought about whether or not he should put on some clothes, he was dressed in a simple pair of black boxers, not a picture he wanted to be in the next day's tabloid. The knocking became louder and so he decided to just answer the door as he was.

"What?" he snapped angrily as he opened the door "Mariah?" Ray was surprised as the young girl shot into the room, and closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?"

"Mariah if Lee…." Mariah put her finger on her boyfriends lips smiling

"He thinks I'm at Hilary's for the night, along with all the other girls" she kissed him gently he didn't respond so she gave him a confused look, "I can just go back to Hilary's room if you don't want me here" she made her way to the door only to find herself stopped by a pair of strong arms snaking around her waist.

"I didn't say that" Ray whispered into her hair, he turned the girl so that they were staring into each others eyes. "You have no idea how much I missed you"

"You'd better show me then." she teased as he began to kiss her neck,

"Oh I will!" Mariah couldn't help but enjoy the huskiness in Rays voice as he said this, she had missed him just as much as he had her. She threw her arms around him holding him close to her as she felt his mouth move from her neck and onto the shoulder.

She was wearing a short sleeveless nightdress and nothing else Ray kept his arms around her waist for a while but soon he started to brush his hand down to where the edge of the nightdress hung. Slowly he slipped his hands underneath the soft white material and started to lift the dress. He could feel her move back lifting her arms so that he could remove the piece of clothing with ease.

Mariah grinned as she felt Rays hands on her bare back, she leant back and traced his well toned stomach with her hands before sliding them down to the rim of his boxer shorts. She usually liked these shorts but tonight for some reason she decided that they were the worst piece of clothing she had ever seen and she had better remove them! With a tantalising slowness she brushed her fingers around the waistband, she played with the edge of the shorts for a while. Ray groaned into her neck as he felt her move her hands just slightly into his underwear, finally she started to slide down the offending garment. Ray hissed angrily at her slow speed and used his feet to pull the shorts off quicker, grabbing her into his arms threw her onto his bed.

"Someone's excited" Mariah grinned as with unusual forcefulness Ray pinned her to the mattress. There was a mad glint in his eyes and she found it incredibly thrilling!

"Mariah" Ray paused and looked down at her,

"What is it?" smiling Mariah put up a hand and brushed his cheek

"I love you" Ray watched as the smile on Mariah's face died, he looked away and started to get up "I'm sorry I shouldn't of..."

"I love you too" When Ray looked back into his lovers eyes he saw that she meant it, there was a look of revelation as though she too had only just understood her feelings for him.

"Thank god, for a moment there I was worried you were gonna say I was stupid or something"

"Well, you kinda are...eep!" Mariah found herself being almost crushed by the weight of Rays body as he pinned her down again

"Shut up and kiss me!" Ray commanded and Mariah was only too happy to comply!

--

Meanwhile back in suite 419, Hilary had been sitting dozing in a chair by the door waiting.

Finally there was a fierce and angry knocking at the door, before anyone else was woken up Hilary opened the door.

"Where's Mariah?" Lee stood at Hilary's door looking angry

* * *

Please R&R I don't care if you want to say the story is useless or that you hated something, please just tell me!


	12. Talking things over

Slightly shorter one this time but I hope you enjoy it!

I'm updating quite quickly at the moment but that might change soon. Since my exams are over I have some extra shifts at work and I really need the cash. My updating might be a bit sporadic but I will attempt to do it at least once a week.

Thankyou for the reviews people, in return I give you this piece of advice. Do not eat astronaut food, it's gross!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Last time on Things are Changing….

--

"_Shut up and kiss me!__"__ Ray commanded and Mariah was only too happy to comply!_

_--_

_Meanwhile back in suite 419, Hilary had been sitting dozing in a chair by the door waiting._

_Finally there was a fierce and angry knocking at the door, before anyone else was woken up Hilary opened the door._

"_Where__'__s Mariah?__"__ Lee stood at Hilary__'__s door looking angry_

* * *

"Well answer me" Lee commanded "where is Ma..."

"She's with Ray" Hilary interrupted and watched as he reacted angrily to the news

"Yeah that's what I thought" Lee turned angrily and was about to march away when Hilary grabbed him by the arm and with a little difficulty dragged him into her suite. Lee was angry but the room full of sleeping girls prevented him from saying anything

"We need to talk!" Hilary whispered as she continued to pull him along and opening up her bedroom door she made him sit on the bed

"What about" Lee asked angrily as she shut the door behind them

"Ray and Mariah"

"I don't want to talk about that!"

"Well we need to, did you honestly think that dragging her away from him was going to work? All you did was cause a lot of humiliation a lot of heartache and make sure that they got a lot of media attention."

"Well I didn't mean for that to happen," Lee admitted huffily as he crossed his arms

"Lee after that incident the press went crazy over this championship, they started to watch everyone closely just waiting for them to make some sort of newsworthy mistake"

"Like I said I didn't mean for that to happen"

"What did you think would happen?" Hilary asked sitting next to him and watching him closely

"Well that…., well that….. OK so I wasn't really thinking I was just mad"

"Lee what I am about to tell you is gonna make you hate me a lot!" he gave her a confused look "This championship wasn't the first time that they slept together"

"What?" Lee sounded dangerous so Hilary moved away a little

"They were kinda doing it last year as well, and by kinda I mean they were actually doing it" Lee looked amazed but slowly little pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place

"You mean all those times she was crashing in your room she was…"

"Oh Yeah!"

"What about when after an important battle the two of you would go and analyse the game? Was that just a cover so that she…"

"Yep!"

"Right! I used to wonder why she always wanted to analyse it with you. What about when you used to go shopping in the early hours of the morning was …."

"Oh that was real…." Hilary thought for a moment "Well most of the time"

"I see!"

"I'm sorry, but they love each other Lee" Hilary tried to sound comforting as she placed a hand on his arm "I mean lets face it, there are two people in this competition who would die before they let anything happen to Mariah and its you and Ray. You both almost proved that at the press conference today"

"Yeah I know,"

"And Lee please just think for a moment, if you could choose any guy in your acquaintance to be with Mariah who would it be?"

"I guess I always thought that she and Ray would be good together but she could do so much better"

"She doesn't want to do better, and I personally don't think she can. Ray is a great guy, he loves her more than anything else in the world. Can anyone ever do better than that?"

"I wanted her to be with a guy with a future, Ray... he's just a blader, she could have anyone. Someone with money, or at least a plan to his life"

"Well if you want money and a plan... Enrique of the Majestics showed an interest a while back" Hilary said pretending to think about it

"Your kidding right? Like I'd want that idiotic, womanising, shallow, superficial, patronising, idiot anywhere near Mariah?" Lee asked angrily

"Technically you said idiot twice there"

"Well he's a really big idiot!" Lee snapped, he then realised that Hilary was giggling, "What?"

"Nothing, Nothing I just agree with you."

"Thanks" Lee gave a sigh as he stood and paced around her room, Hilary watched him sympathetically, letting him think. Eventually she decided enough time had gone by and she broke the silence.

"So what happens tomorrow?"

"I guess I can make an effort, but if I ever hear him talking about Mariah and what they get up to I will not be held responsible for my actions."

--

Next morning Ray sat at breakfast smiling slightly, he looked down at the meal in front of him and realised he had been sitting there for over ten minutes and not eaten anything. Beside him Hilary could barely contain her laughter, he was acting like a lovesick schoolgirl. Lucky for him Tyson and Daichi were too busy eating to notice his strange behaviour and Kenny was reading a book. He picked up a fork and toyed with his food, he lifted some eggs to his mouth and paused, he was thinking about Mariah again, he put the fork down and sighed.

Hilary giggled.

Across the room the door opened Lee, Mariah, Gary, and Kevin walked in and made their way to the buffet. Mariah was looking happy and she glanced around the room allowing her gaze to rest on Ray for a moment, he wasn't looking up so he didn't notice her. Mariah grinned as she saw the expression on his face, obviously Ray was thinking more about her than anything else but she couldn't go see him so instead she followed the others and quietly filled her plate. After they had got their food they waited for Lee to decide where they were sitting.

"Gary, Kevin"

"Yeah?"

"Go sit at the table by the window, I'll be there in a minute" Gary and Kevin were curious but they nodded obediently and went to sit down,

"Lee? What's up?" Mariah asked, Lee sighed and started to move to the Blade Breakers table

"Come on!"

Mariah followed Lee as he led her to where Ray sat. Mariah began to worry a little as they went over to the table, she didn't see how Hilary could have already had time to talk to her brother, had he found out about last night?

"Hi Lee, hi Mariah!" Hilary greeted them cheerily, everyone else including Ray looked up surprised. Lee stood unsure his pride wouldn't let him say anything too nice but this gesture needed some explaining, Hilary came to his rescue "Is Mariah eating with us today?"

"Yeah," Lee nodded "By the way Ray we're all practicing in the main gym today, want to join us?"

"I think I'd like that" Ray answered still very confused but pleased at the invitation, Lee nodded again and turning walked to where the others sat.

"Well sit down Mariah" Hilary said moving along so that her friend could sit next to Ray

"Hilary?" Mariah watched Lee walk back to his table

"Yes?"

"What did you say to him?" everyone faced Hilary amazed

"Nothing much, he's a good brother. Are you going to sit down?"

Mariah sat down beside her boyfriend under the table their hands joined and the two of them smiled at each other. Lee watching from a distance grimaced, he wasn't ever going to be completely happy about this, but this was the happiest he had seen either of them in a long time. Hilary flashed him a grateful grin and Lee knew that he had done the right thing, he could cope!

--

Ray sat in the lobby of the hotel, in front of him on a coffee table Drigger was in pieces, he was just giving his blade a final tune up before going to train

"Hey Ray," Hilary flopped down on the sofa beside him "so you going to train with the tigers today?"

"I'm not sure" Ray picked up his attack ring and studied it carefully, Hilary picked up a spin gear it was badly cracked

"This is completely broken, why aren't you sure?"

"I know it's broken I don't have a spare on me. I'm not sure because…well because of what happened. Lee just totally overreacted and the others were the same. I can't just pretend that the weeks of snubbing and anger didn't hurt."

"I think I have a spare" she rifled through her bag and pulled out a small repair kit, presenting it to Ray she said "Ok if that's how you feel!"

"Is that all you're going to say?" Ray took the piece from her and attached it to Drigger, he was surprised that she had let the subject drop so quickly "You aren't going to try convince me to go and patch things up with them?"

"No, I've got my own problems right now!" Hilary looked down at the weight disk in her hands unhappily,

"Problems? What problems?" Ray could see that she looked troubled and put a brotherly arm around her. "Hils come on you can tell me!"

"Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Of course" he gave her a supportive smile "I won't tell a soul, now tell me! What is the matter?"

"First tell me what you think of Rick."

"Rick? Well he's a good guy, he always was really, tough but very honourable. Now I honestly think I would call him a good friend! Why?"

"Well last year we went on a couple of dates and well we slept together"

"WHAT?" Ray yelled causing a few heads to turn

"Ray people are staring"

He sat down next to her and hissed "Hilary I thought you were a..a vir...a"

"Virgin?" Hilary grinned as he nodded "Well obviously not, the thing is he's asked me out again."

"I see" Ray tightened his hold on her shoulder his lips were set in a thin line "Hils forgive me but is it a good idea to go out with him I mean we've had enough gossip this year already"

"I know but I like him and he likes me. You OK Ray?"

"Yes" he sounded angry, Hilary smiling just continued

"We'll we're going out tonight and if all goes well we might end up…"

"Do not even finish that Hilary" Ray jumped up and stood in front of her "look he may be a good guy but he's not good enough for you OK?" He was mad, Hilary was like a little sister to him and he didn't like the sound of any of this

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's… He's…ok so there's nothing wrong with him! But you can do better and I don't want you to throw yourself away on some stupid blader!" Ray stopped, Hilary was smiling in fact she looked like she was about to burst from holding in her laughter. "What?"

"Now do you see why Lee was so mad?" she asked as calmly as she could

Ray was clueless for a few seconds and then realised what she had done "I just walked straight into that one didn't I?" he sat back down next to her chuckling

"Oh yeah!"

"Was any of that true?" he asked sighing

"Nope!"

"So you're still a vir..."

"Yes!" Hilary laughed at his expression of relief "Look Ray it doesn't matter who Mariah ends up with as far as Lee is concerned no one will ever be good enough for her. And he's traditional, the idea of his sister having sex before she's married? It's definitely not something he wants! The others on the team may think you two are good together but they sided with Lee because you two lied to them for so long. You're team was simply doing what they thought was best for Mariah she's like a little sister to them, just like I am to you."

"I should have known you can't help yourself!"

"With what?"

"Talking me into going back to my team, Kai told me that you were a pro when it comes to that little speech" Ray nudged her arm slightly and smiled over at her

"I like to think so!" with that Hilary stood and left Ray to put Drigger back together. Well that was one problem sorted all she had to do now was solve everything else that had gone wrong. And she had to decide what to wear when she had dinner with Tyson! 'why is nothing ever simple?' she pondered as she walked along.

--

"This had better be important Hiro" Mr Dickenson puffed as he followed the coach

"Trust me Mr D, this you'll want to see!" Hiro smiled as he led the head of the BBA along to the gym, once there they looked in to see Ray and Lee in a friendly practice. There was still a little aggression between the two but they were beginning to enjoy themselves as their blades clashed and hissed their way around the dish..

"I don't believe it" Mr Dickenson looked down at his watch "she's only been here for less than 24 hours and already she's done the impossible"

"When I promise miracles I deliver them" Behind them Hilary smiled as she moved forward and peeked through the door "it's not completely alright yet but it's a start."

"How are you going to keep the press from printing more stories and how are you going to solve the other problems?" Hiro asked intrigued

"I have a few ideas, it's just going to take some time!"

"Well" Mr Dickenson rubbed his hands together smiling "it looks like this year is going to run Ok. Once all these problems are fixed nothing else could possibly go wrong"

--

The prison guards watched as Voltaire walked out into the sunlight, he wore a set of dark robes that were now a little too big for him. When he had been put in jail the clothes had fit perfectly but now all these years later living on a diet unlike he had been used to on the outside he had lost weight. His hair was still incredibly long and heavy as he ran a hand through it.

Outside a large black car stood sleek and shining in the bright daylight, as Voltaire approached it the door opened and a man with pale skin and purple hair climbed out. Boris Balkov smiled as his boss approached him, he had been looking forward to being reunited with the man who had first believed in him. The two men nodded to each other and Boris moved away allowing him to enter.

Voltaire slid smoothly into the car and relaxed back into the black leather seats.

"Comfortable?" Horatio sat next to Voltaire a glass of champagne in each hand

"Very" Voltaire took one of the glasses and raised it toasting his friend "to freedom!"

"To freedom" there was a sight pause "and the continuation of our work"

"Oh yes to that as well" The two men laughed in true bad guy style, in front of them they heard a door open and Boris climbed into the front seat next to the driver.

"Where to first?" Boris looked back at the men relaxing behind him

"To the lab" Horatio said smiling "I think we ought to show Voltaire what we've been up to while he was on the inside."

* * *

Ha! You all thought I'd forgotten about Voltaire didn't you?!

Sorry GoddessPhoenix3173, but Voltaire is out and it means trouble.

R&R


	13. Two dates to remember

About the advice given in my last chapter, ummmmm, well I was having a weird day. But I do really hate freeze dried food!!

Ok, thanks for the reviews, Skyd, you were right there was no Kai in that bit! I can't believe that I left him out for a whole chapter. I don't think I even mentioned him. It was like the movie (yes I saw the movie, it was rubbish, not enough Kai!!) I sincerely apologise.

Can I just say GoddessPhoenix3173, you give great reviews but I see where you want this story to go! Filth!! I make no promises but if you look at my track record yeah you know who will eventually change that! ;-)

Thinking-about-it: glad you like the Ray Hilary bit, I really wanted to show it's not just Kai that Hilary can read like a book, it's all the blade breakers.

And Darkblackshadowangel1, I hope this is soon enough for you and that you didn't have to wait too long.

Sorry to the people who don't like it, but here is a little TyHil

By the way, longest chapter **ever **by me! (You better all enjoy it! Well go on then enjoy it!!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Hilary and Tyson sat in the restaurant neither of them talking, they had arrived ages ago and after a brief discussion about food they were at a complete loss for something to say. Their meals arrived but neither of them ate.

"This is awkward" Hilary said staring at the table

"Yeah" Tyson agreed they both stared at their food it was a while before either of them spoke again "Hilary?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you and I will only ever be friends" Hilary looked up to see he was smiling, relieved she smiled back

"I know" Hilary sighed

"I do love you it's just…."

"Not in the way you thought"

"Yeah!" Tyson picked up a chip and began to eat it "It's just when you were gone everything seemed to fall apart, I felt lost and then when you came back I…."

"Didn't feel lonely anymore?"

"Right" Tyson ate another chip, "so just friends?"

"Just friends" Hilary grinned and began to eat as well, "Hey did you tell anyone about this?"

"No why?"

"Because they're all gonna know about it tomorrow!" Hilary nodded to where a photographer hid behind a screen in the restaurant, Tyson laughed,

"Well at least we can tell them it was just a friend thing"

"Or we could really freak everyone out!" Hilary gave him a devious smile

"What do you mean?" Tyson grinned he and Hilary often liked to play jokes on people and from that smile it looked as though she had thought of a good one.

"Just play along" she said and put her hand on his, gently turning his hand over she began to trace circles on his palm. Tyson could hardly keep from laughing out loud as she did this. He grinned and picking up a chip offered it to her, she opened her mouth and took a small bite. The two of them were grinning and soon Hilary began to giggle, Tyson gave her a wink and taking a sip of his drink threw a glance to where the photographer had been hiding. Yep the guy was still there probably having a mini heart attack at the thought of what he was getting.

After dinner the two of them continued in a lover like fashion and holding hands as they left the restaurant, Tyson held the door open for her as she got into the taxi and once inside he slung his arm over the back and she leant into him.

"Mariah will have a fit when she see's this"

"Mariah? What about the guys they'll go crazy"

Hilary immediately thought of Kai and smiled to herself, well this might help her prove to her friends back home that she didn't have feelings for that damn annoying, cold-hearted, incredibly fine Russian.

"Well what do we do at the hotel they'll see us there too?" Tyson asked

"I dunno, I hadn't thought of that"

"Well I think tomorrow morning we should just act like nothing happened and if anyone asks about it we just brush it off"

"Good idea that'll totally throw them especially if we both do it" Hilary clapped her hands happily, it was so good to be back with one of her best friends pulling pranks.

"Hey aren't you supposed to be here to stop all the media attention?"

"Well think about it Ty it'll be in all the papers tomorrow about us and the two of us will be acting like nothing happened, everyone will say that the media is inventing stories and making false judgements. Not only that the paparazzi will be so busy watching us waiting for us to 'slip up' again that they'll ignore the other couples in this tournament. It's perfect really."

"So I'm being used" Tyson pretended to be upset by this, Hilary punched him lightly on the arm smiling,

"Stop being such a girl!"

At the hotel the two of them walked across the lobby and waited for the lift, Hilary saw out of the corner of her eye a few more reporters, "Ty?"

"Yeah?" the lift doors opened, they stood back and let an elderly couple walk out and then they walked in themselves

"Ready to totally throw them?" Hilary whispered as Tyson pushed the button looking at her he guessed what she meant and nodded,

"Oh yeah" before the doors closed Tyson grabbed Hilary close and kissed her, Hilary responded putting her hands in his hair and roughly running them through it, they stood like that for a few seconds until the doors closed.

They broke apart laughing,

Tyson noticed they weren't moving, the door opening light flashed, he pointed to it and Hilary nodding returned to her former position,

"COME ON KAI" Bryan yelled as the Blitzkrieg Boys all ran for the lift, Kai jogged along lightly the doors of the lift looked closed from this angle, Tala got there first and slammed his thumb onto the button repeatedly, the others all caught up just in time to see the doors open again.

"What the FUCK?"

Hilary and Tyson broke apart when they heard Ian's exclamation,

For a few seconds everyone froze.

Hilary stared at the team unable to think of anything to say, finally Tyson pulled her arm and whispered "Just stick to the plan act like it's nothing, it's the only way to get through this" Tyson looked into Kai's eyes, for the first time in a long time Tyson felt really afraid of Kai.

"Hi Guys!" Hilary smiled breezily "Going up?" Spencer nodded dumbly, the Blitzkrieg Boys all entered the lift and Hilary once more pushed the button, Hilary's floor was first, she got out and Tyson followed, the last thing he wanted was to be in a lift with Kai right now there was a murderous look in his eyes for some reason.

As soon as she was out of the lift Hilary exhaled, she had been holding her breath for some reason. It was as though she thought that by not breathing it would all turn out to be a horrible nightmare. She looked back over her shoulder to see Kai's eyes still firmly fixed on her and Tyson.

"Note to self" she muttered "Holding your breath doesn't turn embarassing situations into a dream."

--

Kai watched as the **couple** walked out of the lift, Tyson once more grabbed Hilary's arm and began to walk with her down the corridor. He had never felt so much like punching Tyson, he had battled with him time and time again, he had been driven mad by his incessant whining and eating but now he **really **wanted him to die!

Hang on a second, Hilary and Tyson could date whoever they liked.

What the hell was all this really about? Kai straightened up and crossed his arms.

--

The doors to the lift closed and Tyson and Hilary looked at each other, the hilarity of the situation hit them again and they started to laugh. Forgetting for a moment that Kai had just seen the two of them kissing each other and the intense anger in his eyes Tyson walked Hilary to her door smiling happily.

"Of all the people that were going to see us it would have to be Kai!" Tyson held his stomach it hurt from laughing too much "anyone else would have realised it was a joke!"

"I know did you see Spencer's face though? And Tala looked like he had been hit round the head with a sledgehammer or something"

"Oh yeah" they stood laughing together for a couple more minutes, Hilary stopped and smiled at her friend "Well goodnight, I had fun" she pulled her cardkey from her pocket and swiped her lock

"Me too! Goodnight Hils" Tyson turned to walk away

"Oh by the way" Hilary poked her head out into the corridor

"Yeah?" he turned back to face her

"Just for the record, you're a really good kisser!" and with that Hilary pulled back into her room and shut the door.

Tyson smiled with an odd sort of pride as he walked down the hallway, he decided to take the stairs to his room.

--

"Well Tyson?" Hiro stood angrily in the breakfast room holding the morning paper in his hand "what do you have to say about this?"

Tyson rubbed his eyes and glared blearily at his brother, why was Hiro in such a mood this morning? He stretched wishing that he hadn't come to breakfast so early.

Ah who was he kidding? It was bacon sandwich day!

Tyson lifted his sandwich to his mouth and was about to take a bite out of the beautiful food when a newspaper was shoved in between him and the heavenly taste.

"Oh shit" Tyson whispered as he looked at the front page. For a second he felt amused that he and Hilary had made the front page but when he looked at Hiro the amusement died and he almost lost his appetite.

(Please note I said **almost** lost his appetite.)

"Well?" Hiro asked again.

Sighing heavily Tyson laid his sandwich down on the plate in front of him, the bacon was still sizzling slightly, the tomatoes were crisp and juicy, the ketchup and brown sauce had both been poured on in perfect quantities.

The perfect bacon sandwich!

As he looked around Tyson could see that every table had a copy of the paper and everyone was waiting to hear what he said "Oh that," he said as carelessly as possible "it's nothing."

This declaration set off a tidal wave of whispers and squeals, Tyson felt awful he knew that this was the plan but he needed Hilary here otherwise he looked like a complete pig and he knew it!

Pretending not to care he picked up his breakfast and took solace in the fact that he had been right, it was the perfect bacon sandwich. Hiro continued to berate the young blader while he ate his breakfast, never had Hiro been so angry with his little brother.

Across the room an angry Kai listened along with everyone else to what was being said, he didn't like the idea of Hilary and Tyson as a couple but the idea that Tyson might break her heart was even worse. Tala was watching the his team captain as though he was studying him for a psychology project, it was interesting to see Kai struggling with his feelings especially as it didn't show very often. Luckily for the captain it was only the two of them at the table, after Kai had gone to bed Ian Bryan and Spencer had snuck out again, Tala hadn't bothered to go because he was pretty convinced that Kai was likely to kill Tyson and he wanted to keep an eye on him.

Finally Hilary came into the room, she looked perfectly refreshed and happy, somehow she managed to totally ignore everyone as she made her way up to the buffet. She filled her plate slowly and was seemingly unaware of the fact that every person in the room was staring at her. As she walked over to the table where Tyson was she picked up a paper and looked at the front.

There was a new tension in the room. Everyone held their breath waiting for Hilary to react, they were expecting temper tantrums, yelling, screaming, maybe a little crying and knowing Hilary a fair bit of violence!

Instead she simply shrugged as she sat down opposite Tyson. "Morning guys" she poured herself a drink and as she took a sip of coffee added sugar and then opened the paper to look at the travel section.

"Um…Hila, Hila Hila …Hilary?"

"Yes Kenny?" she looked at the nervous boy smiling "What is it?"

"I, I I don't know if you really noticed the front of the paper" Hilary smiled and closing the paper looked down at the front page.

It was really quite a good photo, she and Tyson in the elevator locked a passionate embrace, she felt like giggling. Daichi sunk low in his seat as though he expected her to explode, Kenny looked ready to run as he awaited the girls reaction even Hiro felt worried.

"Oh that" she waved it aside "meh" It took all of Tyson's self control not to explode with laughter as a series of gasps made the room sound as though it had just suffered a snake infestation.

"Is that all you've got to say?" Hiro yelled angrily, once he had gotten over his shock "for once in my life I actually got more sense out of Tyson than you!"

"Wow! What did you say Ty?" Hilary asked amused

"That it was nothing." Tyson sent the girl a knowing look causing her to giggle

"Cool," Hilary smiled at Hiro and rubbed her tongue along her front teeth before turning back to Tyson "so what training room did you get in the end?"

"Crappy one!"

"Well if you will book at the last minute"

"Hey it's not my fault that I had important things to do!"

"What like eating?" Hilary and Tyson talked normally and pretty soon everyone in the room stopped watching them and went back to eating.

--

Tyson and Hilary were walking to the training room, Daichi and Kenny were already there waiting for them.

"Well I think that went well!"

"When I told Hiro that it was nothing I thought he was going to kill me!"

"Well normally you don't get up until noon, how was I supposed to know you would go down to breakfast so early?"

"Hey it's bacon sandwich day! The bacon goes all hard and nasty if your not quick"

"Tyson I'm glad I'm not your girlfriend, I could never compete with your one true love" Hilary shook her head in mock sorrow as she said this.

"Food" Tyson nodded wisely "it will always be first in my heart!"

Laughing Hilary paused and bent down to tie her shoelace, "Well actually last night came as a real blessing!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Ian, Spencer and Bryan had a few fan girls in their rooms last night and as usual promised the world only to destroy all their hopes and dreams"

"Let me guess, they couldn't even remember the girls names in the morning?"

"Got it in one!" Hilary straightened up but neither of them continued to walk, "I just don't get why those guys have to do it!"

"Yeah and why did it start so much this year?"

"Well actually it happened last year as well, and the year before"

"I never heard that!"

"Just like you never heard about Ray and Mariah?"

"How did you keep all that quiet?" Tyson stared at her amazed

"Ray and Mariah were easy but the Blitzkrieg Boys could be a little more difficult"

"How?"

"Well whenever they brought girls back the reception would call me and tell me, I had an arrangement with them. Next morning I would meet the girls and take them for breakfast I listened to their woes and then took them out to buy some nice jewellery, at the expense of whichever Blitzkrieg Boy they had slept with of course. That's what I was up to this morning, as long as no ones lost their virginity it's usually OK! I tried to warn Mr D about it but he seems a bit oblivious to what I meant. He thinks we're all still kids I guess"

"So you get told every time a Blitzkrieg Boy brings home a girl?"

"Not just the Blitzkrieg Boys" Hilary gave Tyson a smile he blushed a fiery red "oh look at Tyson, doesn't he want people to know about the girls he brings back?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't worry Ty at least with you I don't have to comfort anyone!"

"Hey can I ask you something?"

"Yes but it doesn't mean I'll answer it!"

"How many times has Kai brought back a girl?"

"Tyson!" Hilary hit him violently!

"I was just asking! Ow! Stop that! Why do you have to hit me so hard?"

"Well it's a mean thing to ask, all I will say is that he has never devastated a girl, nor has Tala, although his girls are usually the type to sell their stories to a tabloid."

"How do you stop that?"

"I don't, there's nothing really wrong with it. Some girl wants to tell the world she's a slut it's fine by me!"

"Harsh!!"

"It's a harsh world" Hilary shrugged carelessly

"So why don't you tell Kai about it? He'd soon put a stop to it!"

"Have you ever tried to talk to Kai about that kind of thing?"

"OK good point!"

"I guess I could have told him but a part of me thinks he'd take it badly that I know what his and his teams sex life is like!"

"I'm not to happy you know about mine!" While Hilary and Tyson made their way to the training room, she kept on making jokes about the various girlfriends he had brought home.

A door just by where Tyson and Hilary had been standing opened, Kai walked out cautiously, he looked down the corridor as the two friends rounded a corner. You could see from the blunettes expression that he was not a happy bunny (but when is Kai ever a happy bunny?)!

--

The Blitzkrieg Boys were taking it easy, Kai had left them to go sort out some paperwork with Hiro, as it had been decided that this year Kai was the official captain Tala had become a little lax. Unfortunately for them none of them had noticed that their captain had re-entered the room, Kai stood and aimed his beyblade at one of the drinks bottles on the bench, he launched and watched in satisfaction as a bottle went flying. Liquid covered his team mates and they all jumped up yelling angrily.

"Damnit Kai did you never hear of a simple hello?" Tala brushed a hand through his hair

"No! Now shut up I want to talk to you all."

"What about?" Bryan asked lazily sitting back on the bench

"Stand up!" Kais voice was low and vicious the four Blitzkrieg Boys stood to attention, each feeling very much like a child when they know they have done something wrong, but cannot remember what it is.

"Kai want to tell us why you're so pissed?"

"I want to ask you about girls"

"Um… are they the ones with skirts?" Bryan tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"I want to ask you about some specific girls"

"You need some advice or something?" Tala was confused.

"Would you all stop acting like idiots! I want to know about the girls you guys are meeting up with at night. The fangirls you lot prey upon."

"Oh those girls!" Bryan exchanged looks with the others, they should have known that it was only a matter of time before Kai decided to say something about all this. Oh well they had, had a good run!

--

All the bladers were hanging around the stadium, Mr Dickenson had called them all together to talk to them about the new changes that had been made since Hilary's return. Mr Dickenson had discovered that Hilary had done a lot of damage control as far as rivalries and relationships among the bladers were concerned. He had given her a carte-blanch to do whatever she pleased and so Hilary had arranged a few changes.

Hilary looked around at the teams, there was an element of tranquillity but she knew that it wouldn't take much to reinstate the chaos that had been around before. As it was Enrique of the Majestics was already flirting with Matilda. Enrique was demonstrating some Samba moves and teaching Matilda, Miguel standing nearby wasn't looking too happy.

"Oh please stop trying to teach her to dance!" It wasn't Miguel who finally lost his temper with the blonde Italian, everyone turned to find Luiz from team Spintensity standing looking angry. "You are insulting the dance and everything it stands for"

"What the hell do you mean?" Enrique turned on him angrily "It's just a dance"

"It is a dance of passion, not a cheap way to flirt with girls"

"Luiz, calm down!" Frankie took her team mate by the arm and tried to pull him away "you don't have to start a fight"

"Why don't you just show me?" Enrique teased

"If I can find the partner I want then I will" Luiz looked around and caught sight of the person he was looking for "Hilary?"

Hilary had slipped behind her friends in a vain attempt to stay out of sight.

"Come on Luiz" Hilary sighed "I'm not really in the mood"

"What would your cousin Mac say if he heard that?"

"Fine" Hilary handed her clipboard to Mariah, she sighed as she walked over to Luiz, people backed away to give them room "I'm gonna kill you for this" she threatened but Luiz only laughed.

"Frankie if you would be so kind?"

Frankie immediately turned on Luiz's music and The intro for Enrique Inglesias' version of She Bangs played out.

Hilary and Luiz stood listening to the music, during the intro they made no move but the minute the trumpet first sounded Luiz grabbed Hilary's waist and pulled her so they were standing hip to hip, as the song continued the two of them moved together in perfect time. Their hips grinding and swaying in perfect sync, with amazing accuracy Luiz would suddenly spin Hilary away from his body, she would whirl out with ease and then move back in, the two of them looked into each others eyes whenever the opportunity arose and they looked just as Luiz had said 'Passionate'.

Hilary and Luiz stood side by side moving together and making the same steps with perfect timing.

Everyone was watching as the two of them demonstrated the dance and as Luiz in conclusion dipped Hilary and she seemed to go limp in his arms there was a slight applause and a few cheers. Hilary blushed as she and Luiz finally broke apart, he grinned and hugged her

"Not bad, have you been practicing much?"

"No" Hilary shook her head "Mac's been busy and I've had study to do"

"Smart, beautiful, talented, if it wasn't for the rules I would have snapped you up ages ago" Luiz winked at her and rejoined his team, Hilary laughed and went back to her friends

"Rules?" Mariah enquired as Hilary walked over and took her clipboard back

"What rules?" Ming Ming standing next to Mariah was curious as well

"Mac and Dante had a lot of rules at the dance school, the only one that if broken was punished by being expelled without any warning was 'Don't hit on Hilary' it was a really dumb rule!" Hilary sighed

"Right" Julia nodded "that must have been tough"

"Tough? No it wasn't tough,"

"Being in a school filled with well toned men, and not being allowed to do anything?" Julia cocked her head to one side and sighed dreamily "I'd have found it tough." the girls all giggled

"Julia, I was ten, thats why the rule was so dumb!"

"Hello Kids!" Mr Dickenson had finally arrived, he walked in wiping his brow with his handkerchief.

Hilary grinned at being addressed as a kid, she was neither the oldest nor the youngest but she had begun to feel that being addressed as a kid was bugging her. She wondered how Kai the eldest of her old team took it, after all he was 19 now, there was no way he enjoyed being referred to as a kid. She glanced over to where the blunette stood and had to suppress a gasp, Ruby eyes met grey and the two of them found themselves staring at each other. There was something new in his eyes, something she hadn't seen before.

Kai had watched as Luiz and Hilary danced, he hadn't liked the way Luiz had grabbed at Hilary and held her so close. He didn't like it because it was disrespectful. Or at least that's what he told himself.

--

Hilary walked down to the reception it was about six in the morning and everywhere was very quiet. Hilary was grateful for this for two reasons, reason number one was that her job in the mornings required a lot of discretion. This was part of her damage control, and she had, had trouble convincing Mr Dickenson that she could do all this. Mr D still had trouble that they were no longer kids, he preferred to ignore the bedroom antics of the male bladers. The second reason she was grateful was because she had overslept this morning and as a result was still wearing her nightdress and dressing gown.

"Good morning miss Tatibana!"

"Hi Petra! How many times do I have to say this it's Hilary" Hilary smiled at the lilac haired receptionist, the two of them knew each other quite well as when Hilary had introduced herself yesterday and explained that she usually had to come down early to sort out whichever girl the Blitzkrieg Boys may have brought back they had had a long conversation..

"Sorry!"

"It's no problem, hey look I was wondering I never got a call last night telling me which boys had brought back a girl"

"Probably because none of them did!"

"What none? Not even Bryan or Spencer?"

"Nope,"

"Right," Hilary was a little confused but if she left now she could squeeze in another hour or so of sleep, she turned to walk away

"Oh there was one thing though!"

Hilary sighed she had known it was too good to be true "What?"

"A message," Petra handed over the paper and Hilary took it "I was asked to give it to you"

"Who by?"

"Read it" Petra smiled in an sly way, Hilary gave her a suspicious look as she opened up the note.

_Hilary,_

_Please join me for breakfast, all will be explained!_

"Ok who is this from?" Hilary turned on the receptionist angrily "It doesn't say who it's from or where to go!"

"You go to room 1325, breakfast has already been sent up"

"I can't remember whose room that is" Hilary tried to think but she honestly couldn't remember whose room it was. After a few minute wracking her brains Hilary decided to go and find out, after all Petra knew where she was going so if anything happened she should be OK.

--

Hilary stood at the door and knocked,

"Hello!" Kai stood at the door, he was already fully dressed in full Kai regalia, long scarf, blue triangles and a signature smirk.

"Hi" Hilary smiled up at him "I should have known it would be you." Kai said nothing and opened the door wide, Hilary walked into his room and smiled. The room was typical of Kai, militarily tidy, not a thing out of place. In the centre of the room there was a small table with two chairs, on the table stood coffee and croissants.

"Are you hungry?" Kai asked Hilary as he pulled out a chair for her

"Yeah" Hilary sat down it surprised her slightly that Kai could be such a gentleman. They sat down and began to eat. "So what's all this in aid of?"

"All what?" Kai tore a croissant apart and tried to look as though inviting people to your hotel room for breakfast was completely normal.

"The breakfast, the weird message, come on Kai what's up?"

"Oh that! Well I heard you and Tyson talking today" he watched her closely through half closed eyes and was amused to see her look worried.

"Oh" Hilary blushed "Look Kai…."

"It's OK, I talked to the boys they aren't going to bring anyone back anymore."

"Great, I can have a lie in" she joked nervously

"Yeah" Kai smirked "I also appreciate you not answering Tyson's question."

"Right, well like I'd tell anyone that let alone blabbermouth Tyson." Hilary paused and took a sip of her coffee, it was hot and sweet just like she liked it. "So Kai how come you never bring girls back?"

He didn't react to this and for a few minutes she wondered if she had gone too far, finally he asked "Why are you so interested?"

"Well after that incident with the beauty queens a lot of people were asking about you. Wondering if you were gay or just celibate"

Kai smiled to himself as he remembered what Hilary was talking about, he and the other blade breakers had been in America visiting Max when they had been asked to go to a beauty pageant. He had gone very unwillingly, Tyson had been thrilled! After the pageant the winner had asked him out, so had several of the runners up. He had turned them all down much to the amazement of all those around him.

"I'm not gay, nor have I taken a vow of celibacy" unintentionally he sounded a little angry

"Ok I was just wondering!" laughing nervously she held up her hands as though in defence

"Hilary I'm not the type of guy to just date anyone, and I'll never simply jump into bed with whatever girl happens to be closest or prettiest. It's not right" he lifted his cup to his lips as he said this.

"Does that mean you're a virgin?" Kai spat out his coffee at the unexpected question, Hilary giggled "I just thought that while I have you in a talkative mood and while we're sort of on the subject I would ask! You don't actually have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, I'm not a virgin" Kai admitted after a long silence, "Hilary, what do you know about the Abbey?"

"Tyson told me that you grew up there, that they forced you to train, that they would torture you, he said they turned Tala into some sort of a cyborg"

"Not a cyborg" Kai muttered "And not just Tala"

"What was that?" Hilary asked not having heard properly.

"Um...Well at the abbey they didn't exactly approve of innocence of any kind, they used to bring us girls. That's probably why the others are so into it!"

"But you're not?"

"Hilary I knew nothing of normal girls when I left that place, all I knew was what I had been taught. I went to an all boys school, I met girls at tournaments and other occasions but I never acknowledged them, I saw them as a weakness. When Ray went up against Mariah for the first time after he left their village she was just another distraction. All he had to do was look into her eyes and you knew he was crazy about her"

"Still is" Hilary pointed out

"It just seemed to confirm what I thought, that girls are a big disruption, a weakness. I had no real contact or conversation with girls until I met you."

"I didn't realise" Hilary paused "Is that why you ignored me when we first met?"

"That was probably part of it, but to be honest I wasn't very good at talking to anyone back them"

"Why not?"

"I didn't trust anyone"

"Really?"

"Yes, I didn't have a whole lot of reasons to trust people." again there was a silence as Hilary ate processing what she had heard, Kai took a bite of pastry and then looked up at her "Now, while we are on the subject I have a question for you!"

"OK" Hilary was pretty sure she knew what he was going to ask but she wasn't about to just offer up the information. "Ask away!"

"Are you a virgin?" He was staring at her intently for some reason unknown to him it was very important what her answer was. The idea that some guy might have had her, the idea that Tyson might have had her revolted him!

"Yes" she wasn't embarrassed by this simple answer, she looked a little proud as she said this. "Yes I am!"

Kai fought down the smile that threatened to display how happy this statement made him. As he was Kai Hiwatari, Ice King he managed to do this and control his features into a semi normal look, merely asking "How come?"

"No real reason I've had plenty of chances I just never liked a guy enough I suppose."

"Not even Luiz?"

Hilary laughed out loud "Luiz and I are old friends, he's like another cousin to me. So thats just..." she screwed up her face and shivered "thats just ew, I don't even want to think about it!"

"Well, what's the deal with you and Tyson? I saw you kissing in elevator you looked really into him!"

"Oh that" She laughed "It started out as a date and then we realised we were too good a friends to date and then we decided to play a joke on the paparazzi and then you showed up. To tell the truth I almost had a heart attack when I saw you!"

"Almost had a heart attack! Why?"

"Because anyone else would have gotten the joke you're a bit more serious."

"Just a bit?" Kai challenged, his eyes twinkling un-characteristically

"Yes just a bit! Believe it or not Kai you have changed!"

"Changed?"

"The Kai I first met, the one that ignored me, he would never have invited me to breakfast, nor would he have entered into conversation with me. You've changed and part of that change is that you accepted me when you could have stayed away!"

"Well you're kinda hard to stay away from."

"What do you mean by that?" Hilary was blushing as she pulled apart another croissant

Kai thought for a moment, he looked at her carefully, under her fluffy white dressing gown she was wearing a simple nightdress pink and with straps. It was short showing off her long slender legs for some reason Kai couldn't take his eyes from her legs. It wasn't like he never saw them, Hilary still almost always wore shorts or short skirts, but for some reason right now…

"Kai?"

"Yes?" he came out of his trance

"I asked you what you meant!"

"I meant... I meant" Kai frowned trying to remember what they had been talking about "I meant that you're different from other girls, the beygirls are all very similar and they're almost obsessive in their competition the only time they talk to me or the others seems to be because they want us to help them train. Most other girls are just fangirls they're into beyblading because of the guys not the sport. You like the sport, but you still just see us as friends!"

"Are we not friends?"

"Yes, of course we are, its just you're the first girl friend I've had" Kai realised what he had just sounded like "I mean not girl friend as in girlfriend, girl friend as in girl friend! In fact I've actually never really had a girlfriend at all, not that I'm saying…"

"Kai I got what you meant" Hilary smiled as she drank some more coffee, Kai looked cute when he was confused! Hilary was pretty sure that this was the first time she had ever seen him get confused. "I'm glad you consider me a friend. I consider you a friend"

--

Kai smiled as he said goodbye to Hilary, they had sat together for an hour but Hilary wanted to leave before anyone else woke up. She had removed her dressing gown and was now only wearing her nightdress, he couldn't seem to tear himself away fron the door until she got into the lift and disappeared from sight.

He was unsure, he needed to do something normal. Kai decided to check his email, that was normal for him and he hadn't done that for a while after that he needed to have a quick look at the stock market.

He had a lot of new emails, there was one with which he didn't recognise the address but he opened up the message and carefully read it

_Kai Hiwatari_

_We are writing to inform you that your grandfather, Voltaire Hiwatari had an un-appointed parole hearing yesterday. He was granted parole and tomorrow will be released._

_We apologise for the short notice at which this was all done._

_Sincerely_

_R. Kymenoff_

_Prison Warden for Moscow Penitentiary_

Kai was stunned as he checked the date the email was sent. It was from over two days ago, this meant that Voltaire was out and he was roaming the streets right now.

He backed away from the computer and picked up the phone dialling Tala's number, as the phone rang he paused, the last thing they needed right now was to discover that Voltaire was on the loose

"Kai?" Tala asked "where the hell are you? All we got was this message to train here till you arrived!"

"Sorry Tala I got some bad news…on the stock market, I'll see you guys later"

Kai hung up, no he wasn't going to tell them not yet anyway, he sighed and sat down to type an email to find out more.

That was when he noticed the blood, as he typed blood was spattering across the board and he paused rushing to the sink trying to find the source of the bleeding.

* * *

Ok Moscow Penitentiary is dumb but I couldn't think of a real jail and it will probably only get mentioned once.

I added Luiz because I wanted a little more jealousy from Kai and I just loved the idea of a guy who combines samba and beyblading. Was I the only one who giggled hysterically when he started to dance?

I was?

Oh now I'm upset,

R&R


	14. Lost Tempers

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Things had been going well in the competition, it had been a peaceful week and all of the beybladers were feeling more relaxed. Unfortunately the paparazzi were not content to leave it alone. The photographers were still watching and investigating, reporters hung around desperate for the former chaos to return.

Everytime the bladers left either the hotel or the stadium there would be a crowd awaiting them, it was particularly busy when the Blitzkrieg boys were out in public, before the change they had been the cause of most of the attention grabbing headlines.

"Blitzkrieg boys, over here" there were flashes of light and shouted questions.

Tala gave Kai a searching look as the team pushed their way through the hordes of scandal hungry press trying to get to their hotel. He knew their captain better than he knew himself, Kai was looking calm, a little too calm. Any minute now Kai would lose his temper, Tala looked at the others in his team and he could see that they were smiling. Every single member of the team knew that Kai was close to the edge, they were happily anticipating the anger and rage that was Kai Hiwatari on a bad day.

As they were not at an official press conference the paparazzi could ask any questions they liked, so they did!

Kai could feel the red hot fury taking over him, he made no effort to keep his temper in check. Finally he could take it no more, the pushing, the invasion of personal space, the personal information that was being leaked and made public, the insulting and ridiculous questions. He had been in a bad mood ever since he had learnt about his grandfathers release and the with the unexplained affliction he had suffered he wasn't likely to be getting happier anytime soon.

Kai clenched his hands into fists.

Tala smiled he knew what was coming.

The others all pulled away from Kai slightly making sure they were a safe distance from Kai's fists

"ARGH" Kai cried out and turned to hurt the person nearest to him, his hand was swinging only to be stopped when he saw who the nearest person was.

"Hello Kai" Hilary stood right in front of him smiling sunnily

"Hilary?" Kai was shocked, he had almost hit Hilary! She had somehow managed to slip unobtrusively through the crowd to stand directly beside the angry Blitzkrieg boy

"Lets go guys" Hilary grabbed Kai's wrist and slowly pulled him through the crowds, the amused and slightly confused Blitzkrieg Boys followed and soon they were through the hotel doors and in the relative safety of the hotel lobby.

"Hilary I am so…"

"Sorry?" Hilary finished for him "Why Kai?"

"What?" Kai was confused at her question, surely it was obvious why he was sorry "What do you mean?"

"Why are you sorry?" Hilary asked "Is it because you tried to hit me?"

"Well yeah" Kai scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed kind of way

"Don't be!" Hilary sounded almost evil as she hissed at him angrily "Don't be sorry that you almost hit me, instead be sorry that you almost hit a reporter, be sorry that you almost damaged the non-violent streak we have going on. Be sorry that you could have started all the chaos again. Be sorry that…." Hilary sighed "Be sorry that I'm not going to forgive you for this, not for a long time" she started to walk away but after she had walked a few paces she stopped and turned "I thought you were better than that Kai" And with that comment she walked off.

Kai watched her go a sinking feeling in his chest, she was right… damnit she was always right. Ever since he had first met her, ever since she had written that stupid training schedule, ever since she had first talked sense into him when he had thought all was lost. Damn her for always, always being right.

"Kai" Tala had noticed the unhappy look on his friends face and grabbed his arm "You OK?"

"Fine" Kai shrugged him off "lets get to our rooms, I need a shower."

--

"So!" Mariah placed two drinks on the table and threw herself down into the chair next to Hilary grinning happily "What you up to?"

"I'm continuing my chemistry course long distance, I need to hand this in by the end of the week. I'm just finishing my essay on hospital infections"

"Sounds fun!" Mariah grimaced as she looked at the drawing in the text book Hilary was making notes from.

"It's fascinating really, I've been researching information about how…."

"Hilary" Mariah held up a hand interrupting her "sorry but you know when I start going on about the new metal attack rings that I want, or the new styles and strategy I want to try out, and you get bored but are too polite to say anything!"

"Yeah."

"I'm not that polite, honey I think that stuffs boring" The two girls laughed together and Hilary picked one of the drinks and took a sip.

"I know you think it's boring!" Hilary grinned at the girl "I just wanted to see how long you'd last! So, how's things?"

"Great" Mariah squealed "Ray and I are spending loads of time together, Lee seems to be dealing with it all pretty well, we just tone it all down when we're with him. The others are just happy the team is back on track. We won our last match with three straight wins"

"I'm glad" Hilary sighed "now as long as Kai can keep his fists to himself…."

"Yeah I heard about that..."

"Heard about what?" Ming Ming, Julia, Matilda, Monica and Millie had joined them now each carrying a cup of coffee and settling down for a talk.

"I think we need a bigger table" Hilary started to put away her books as there was no room for them anymore

"Kai almost hit Hilary"

"WHAT?" Monica and Julia yelled together, all the girls looked shocked

"No" Hilary said loudly seeing that all the girls were assuming the worst "a couple of hours ago he was trying to hit a reporter I just got in the way."

"Did he hurt you?" Matilda asked worried

"Nah, and I could've dodged it if he had been unable to stop himself, but I wanted to make a point." Hilary picked up the coffee Mariah had brought her and took a sip "I just wish it hadn't happened, I trusted Kai to…, to…. I don't know. I just thought he would be the one I could depend on. He can usually keep his temper, in fact he usually doesn't show any feelings at all, I trusted him to behave. He's not normally like this..."

"You like him!!" Ming Ming interrupted looking at Hilary curiously

"What?" Hilary yelled spilling her coffee on her bag her face going slightly pink

"You like him, you have a crush on him" Ming Ming reiterated "You think he's hot, you want to date him, you want to spend your life in him, you wan..."

"Stop that! I do not" Hilary protested looking to Mariah for help

"Oh my god, she's right" Mariah was watching her friend closely "you're doing that blush you always get when you have a crush on someone, you so like him"

"Mariah, I was expecting you to back me up" Hilary cried out upset that her friend wasn't helping

"Oh she's blushing" Matilda clapped her hands as Hilary's face took on a rose tinted appearance

"You think he's gorgeous" Ming Ming sang "you want to date him,"

"If you girls don't stop I am going to kill you" Hilary gave the giggling group an evil glare, it was at that moment that Hiro arrived with Robin in one arm and a bag on the other

"Hilary!" Hiro was pleased to see the brunette "are you busy?"

"Not at all" Hilary jumped up glad to get away from her so called friends

"Arelam's got the flu, and I really want to keep Robin away from her while she's ill, you were so good with him last time would you mind…."

"Hiro" Hilary interrupted "just hand him over and get back to your wife."

Hiro plonked Robin in her arms, dropped the bag to the floor and ran off yelling "Thanks Hil, I owe you!"

"Well girls" Hilary could barely stop herself from grinning as she quickly finished her drink "as much as I'd love to stay and chat I gotta go" She grabbed her stuff and shoving it in her bag walked away

"You know I'm right!" Ming Ming yelled after her.

"Hilary and Kai" Julia said with a grin as she watched Hilary go out of sight, "now that would be interesting"

"Yeah but it would mean that I owed Max some money" Mariah sighed gloomily

"Owed Max money?" all the girls attention was now focussed totally on Mariah

"It's a long story"

--

It was the day after Kai had almost hit Hilary and he was still thinking about her, for some reason he hadn't seen her all day. Whenever he looked for her she wasn't there, he was beginning to get annoyed, he wanted to apologise but it was like she was avoiding him. If she was avoiding him and she saw that he was actively looking for her, he was worried she would react badly. He wanted to go to her room but he knew she probably wouldn't answer the door.

Kai angrily kicked at the wall, it was almost dinner time and normally he would see her there but she hadn't been at breakfast or lunch today. He wondered where she was eating, if she was eating

"Oh Kai" Mr Dickenson smiled as he and Hiro caught up with the slate haired blader "I'm so glad we caught up with you" the man wiped at his face with a handkerchief

"Hey Mr D" Kai acknowledged the older man as he turned "Hiro" he gave Tyson's brother a curt but unfriendly nod

"Kai we need a very quick favour" Mr Dickenson asked Kai ever so slightly nervously

"Sure" Kai answered carelessly, Hiro moved forward with a stack of papers

"Kai would you mind taking this to Hilary's suite, she's in room 419" Kai looked at Hiro with complete disdain.

"She's not gonna want to see me" Kai looked at the ground "she…., it would be better if one of you did it."

"Kai I have an emergency meeting to get to now and Arelam is unwell, Hiro needs to get back to her, Kai could you just do this, please"

"Fine" Kai took the pile from Hiro and tried to look miserable hiding the fact that he was actually glad of the excuse to go see the girl. At least this way she couldn't slam the door in his face!

--

Kai stood at Hilary's door holding a stack of papers, on the other side of the door he could hear crying, he nervously tugged at his clothes 'Oh for Gods sake' he thought 'when did I become such a girl?'

He knocked and heard continued crying, mild cursing, and banging until finally the door opened to reveal a harassed looking Hilary holding a crying cranky Robin Granger in her arms.

"Hi Hils" Kai desperately fought the urge to smirk as her expression darkened

"Kai. I don..."

"I know you said you weren't forgiving me but I was sent here with these" he held out the forms and Hilary just got more angry

"If those papers are more work for me prepare to be beaten to a pulp" Hilary seemed deadly serious as she gave this threat

"They are, should I run?" he asked ducking and looking down the hallway as though searching for an escape route.

"No." she smiled at his antics "Come on in. I am going to kill Hiro though" Hilary declared as she allowed Kai to enter, Kai looked around the room and was shocked at the mess he saw. He knew that Hilary was normally a very tidy and organised, there were papers everywhere, empty plates and cups were on the coffee table and toys were thrown around the room..

"Are you Ok?" He sounded worried

"Well Hiro and I are supposed to now be in charge of all this press conference stuff for tomorrow but Arelam came down with the flu and Hiro's looking after her so I've got Robin and I haven't slept in over twenty five hours. I think he may be teething. At the same time I've got to keep up to date with the chemistry course I'm taking and I haven't done half of the required reading, so in answer to your question NO I'm not Ok!"

Kai looked around at the room, Hilary looked close to tears and Robin was still crying

"What do you need?"

"Huh?"

"In order to do the work, what do you need?"

"That pile on the coffee table, whatever your holding and my laptop"

Kai walked forward and picked up the stuff, he then grabbed Robins change bag and taking Hilary's wrist dragged her from the room. "Come on"

"Kai what the hell?" Hilary found herself dragged to the elevator, Kai pulled her in with him. In her arms Robin hiccupped and looked curiously at his new surroundings.

The elevator opened on floor 13 and Kai who was still holding Hilary's wrist dragged her along to his room. Hilary looked around surprised as she took in the Blitzkrieg boys suite, they were in the living area there were three large sofas arranged in a u shape with a coffee table in front of them. A widescreen TV inside a big cabinet faced the central couch. To the left a kitchen area looked incredibly clean and hygienic considering that guys lived in this place.

"You'll work better here" Kai said by way of explanation as he placed her work down on the table. He then took the young boy out of her arms

"Kai..." Hilary had never felt so grateful, Robin smiled happily as Kai sat on the sofa holding him in his arms, however she wasn't about to let Kai know all this. "your still not forgiven" she said obstinately

"I know" Kai smirked as he rubbed Robins back making silly faces at the boy "ever tell anyone about this and I will make you pay."

Hilary couldn't help but smile as she watched Kai with the small child "Thank you."

Kai switched his gaze from Robin to Hilary, she was smiling at him "Just do your work Ok?" Hilary nodded and then sat on the floor in front of the coffee table and began to write.

--

"Kai?" Hilary stretched as she put her pen down, she then stood and moved to sit on the sofa next to him

"Yeah?" Kai smiled at her, they had been sitting in the room for ages, Kai was watching some sports event on the TV and his eyes quickly left her face to look at the screen and then back again

"I just need to read this stuff and then I'm done"

"Good," Kai stroked Robins hair and looked down to check that nothing was bothering him, Robin had fallen asleep about half an hour ago and Kai was sitting with the child fast asleep on his chest.

"I could take Robin back to my room now, get the reading done there"

"No" Kai looked back over at her still smiling "He's alright where he is for now, you get that reading done then I'll help you to get him back to your room."

"Thanks Kai," Hilary sat down right next to him, their arms were touching but for once Kai didn't feel the need to pull away from the physical contact. Hilary opened her textbook and began to read.

Kai wasn't really surprised when after a few minutes he felt her body leaning against his and her head droop down on his shoulder.

"Hils?" he whispered gently, she murmured slightly in her sleep and Kai chuckled as he smiled down at her, he looked around and saw a blanket lying across the arm of one of the sofas. He leaned across and used the blanket to cover them deciding to wake her later, before he realised it Kai's own eyes started to close and his head began to lean to the side so that it rested on hers.

--

Outside their suite the Blitzkrieg boys stumbled down the corridor to their room, they had been out late tonight and although they were coming home alone they knew that Kai wouldn't appreciate the state they were in. There was a large amount of loud shushing and telling each other to be quiet. Once at the door they encountered a problem

"I forgot the key!" A slightly drunk Bryan groaned

"No, No" Spencer said " No, No...we gave it to Spencer"

"You are Spencer dude!" Tala whacked him on the arm

"Do you still say dude?" Ian laughed "No one says dude these days dude" The four boys all fell about laughing.

"Wait, Spencer can't have the key cos I have the key!" Spencer pulled the cardkey from his pocket and promptly dropped it, another explosion of laughter followed this action.

Tala being the most sober of the four picked up the key and opened the door. They all fell into the room and stopped shocked, what they saw sobered them up almost completely.

The TV was still on lighting up the two figures on the sofa both was fast asleep. Hilary rested her head on Kai's shoulder, and Kai had one arm tight on her waist the other held the sleeping child tight to his chest. Kai's head was leaning on Hilary's, they were all three covered by a blanket.

"Ssssh" Tala hissed as the others began to laugh, Hilary began to move and they all froze, they watched as the girl shifted in her sleep moving her arm around Kai's neck. "we so need a camera"

--

Kai awoke next morning in an empty sitting room, he looked around and found that he was still covered by the blanket. He stood feeling a little confused until his attention was caught on a note on the table.

_Kai_

_Thanks so much for your help last night, I really appreciated it!_

_I had a meeting this morning so I left early, I__'__ll get Mariah to _

_watch Robin for me._

_I__'__ll see you around!_

_Hilary_

_P.S. You're forgiven _

Kai smiled as he read the note, he folded it up and put it in his pocket, he yawned and stretched.Lookng at the clock Kai realised that it was past ten and they needed to be at the stadium for twelve.

--

Hilary was back with her groups of friends, Ming Ming, Mariah and Millie, they were all cooing over Robin who was delighted with the attention he was getting.

"So what exactly is wrong with Kai helping you to baby-sit?" Mariah asked as she held Robin in the air and stuck her tongue out at him "I mean he's good with Robin right?"

"Too good!" Hilary groaned as she handed over Robins change bag, the little boy was giggling and sticking his tongue out at the pinkette.

"How can he be too good?" Millie enquired

"Ok" Hilary moved closer to her friends and started to whisper "you all know how hot he is right?"

"Hilary I'm dating Ray how could you even….?" Mariah trailed off as Hilary and the other girls all gave her a look "Ok so he's one of the finest specimens of man I've ever seen, what of it?"

"Imagine all that hotness being sensitive and holding a baby"

"It can't be all that…" Mariah trailed off again as a mental image of silent strong Kai holding little Robin to his chest, no wait even better to his bare chest... BAD THOUGHTS!! Mariah inwardly yelled and she shook her head pink hair flying around as she did so. Robin gurgled his appreciation and tried to grab the flying strands of hair.

"Mmmm" Ming Ming murmured in agreement.

"Exactly" Hilary smiled triumphantly "the only problem was that he was at my door offering to help me and I couldn't keep from saying yes cause A, I really needed the help and B, he's so bloody hard to turn down."

"Buddy 'ard" Robin announced, Hilary and Mariah exchanged worried glances, teaching Robin to swear wasn't exactly on the agenda.

"Look girls I've got to go but I'll pick up Robin later OK?"

"OK"

Hilary began to run off

"Hey" Ming Ming called out before she was out of the door "does this mean you admit that I'm right?"

Hilary pretended not to hear and continued on her way

"I think you're right" Millie said watching the brunette go

"I usually am"

--

"So," Voltaire began as he stood looking around the lab, "what was all that about?"

Horatio turned to look at the information posted up about Brooklyn and the BEGA team, "We found a blader that was thought to be unbeatable"

"And?"

"Your grandson beat him"

"I should have guessed" Voltaire chuckled as he looked at the BEGA team, "when was this all done?"

"About two years after you were imprisoned, it was an interesting experiment."

"How long have you been following them?"

"About a year, we had reason to suspect that the cybernetics in them had been activated."

"Activated?"

"It's not important how or why, the important thing is that it has been done. The question is, do you care what happens?" Horatio watched his friend as he walked around. This Voltaire was different from the one that had been thrown in jail all those years ago, he was quieter more thoughtful, less likely to jump in and do whatever he wanted. It could even be that this new version of Voltaire would care more about his grandson.

"What happen to the boys exactly?"

"Bleeding first, they will begin to bleed from the fingernails, it will be uncontrollabe. It'll happen regularly stopping and starting, it has no reason, it just happens.We aren't sure how long they will remain at that stage, could be weeks, could be months. Then they will feel lethargic, constantly tired and yet unable to sleep without help. After that is the final stage, they will be unable to swallow, their throats will just stop working, even the gag reflex will be affected"

"And after the final stage death?"

"Yes, but with their bodies we will be able to discover where we went wrong. Using that information our work will continue as planned"

"Do we know if they are showing the symptoms yet?"

"Not a clue, we have been watching them for some time and still we have seen nothing."

"Then we just keep looking" Voltaire turned to face his friend smiling "after all it's not like we need Kai anymore is it?"

Horatio grinned "No we don't"

* * *

Awww, Kaihil moments, there will be quite a few of these to make up for the fact that there were so few in the first chapters. Hope you enjoyed!

Please R&R


	15. New Troubles

Theres a pointless bit in this chapter, I don't even know why I wrote it but after I did I realised I could use it later in the story so I left it in!

Boy that was a pointless thing to say.

Thanks for the reviews guys!

I do not own Beyblade, or cosmopolitan magazine, or Facebook

* * *

Hilary smiled to herself as she walked through the unfamiliar corridors at the stadium, ever since leaving Kai this morning she had been unable to stop thinking about him. This bugged her, this **really **bugged her! Kai was a friend, a good friend but that was all he would ever be. She shook her head angrily, she had been away from him for over seven hours now, she should not still be thinking about him!

She was seventeen, old enough to have a job and to live practically alone, she was not supposed to be having stupid crushes over unobtainable guys!

As she continued Hilary thought about all the girls who had chased after Kai over the years, to say that most of them had been pretty would be an understatement. She remembered two of them very well, they had been in Greece on a holiday (courtesy of Mr D) and had met up with Mischa, and Helena, two girls who were practically perfect. Not only were they sweet and kind girls, they were also two of the most beautiful girls Hilary had ever seen. The kind of girls who were so perfect you would've hated them if they weren't so friendly. She had been sure that Kai would show an interest in one of them, in fact she had even joined in with the betting over which one Kai would go for. She had lost a lot of tip money over that, only Max had betted that he wouldn't like either of them.

They had introduced the girls to Kai, but Kai had just been his usual cold self and when Tyson had eventually inquired which of the two girls Kai thought was the most attractive he had looked them up and down and said coldly "Can I say neither?"

Max had gloated about that one for days!

A sigh escaped her lips, she was aware that she was not ugly, in fact she had been told by Ray once or twice that if it hadn't been for Mariah he would have fallen for her. Hilary always laughed this joke off not believing him but warmed by the compliment. Last year after one of her family's yearly fundraisers there had been a photo of her in a Cosmopolitan magazine 'Hilary Tatibana of the Blade Breakers shows us how gorgeous she really is in this Reiss dress' she still had the magazine and took it out whenever the tabloids had decided to print that she was too skinny or her hair was all wrong. But even with all this she also knew that as far as Kai was concerned, he was well out of her league. Kai was….., Kai was….., Hilary paused suddenly realising that she had taken a wrong turn, she looked around confused.

That was when she heard it, voices, one menacing and the other afraid.

--

Millie stood nervously twisting her long plait, she was lost! She had been walking around the stadium for ages and was now hopelessly lost.

"Can I help you at all?" a smooth silky voice made her jump, behind her Kendall of Team Thunderbolt stood smiling. His dark hair seemed to make him melt through from the shadows, his eyes gleamed.

"I'm supposed to be going back to the hotel while my cousins practice but I got kinda lost"

"Oh dear" Kendall moved closer to the young girl, she moved back slightly afraid. Soon Millie was pushed back against the wall Kendall leaned over her in an almost ominous gesture. "perhaps I can help you?"

"No I'm OK really"

"See, I don't think you are" Kendall brushed his hand against her face, panic began to take over the young girl, he was moving so close so that his body actually pinned her to the wall, she tried to push him away but he was a lot stronger than her.

"MILLIE?" Millie and Kendall turned to find Hilary standing at the end of the corridor she walked forward angrily and grabbed the young blonde by the wrist. The brunette then gave Kendall the darkest look she could and dragged the younger girl away.

--

"So are you OK?" Hilary and Millie were sitting in a coffee shop finishing off their drinks, they had sat there for some time in silence only talking about general topics like beyblading or clothes.

"Yeah I'm OK" the younger girl took a last sip of drink and then pushed the empty cup away from herself "he was just too close. His eyes were…" the girl trailed off unhappily

"Look Millie I think you should stay away from Kendall OK?"

"Yeah, thing is I don't even get why he did that."

"He's a scumbag who wanted to prey on a pretty girl!"

"But that's it I'm not even that pretty!"

"Are you kidding?" Hilary stared at the girl in disbelief "you're beautiful"

Millie blushed shyly "I'm not."

"You can't really believe that?"

"Why not? My mom's always telling me I'm ugly! And the magazines say I'm to thin"

"Well your mum is wrong! And never pay any attention to tabloids, I once saw two magazines side by side, one said that an actress had great curves while the other said she was too fat. Those magazines should just be used to line cats litter trays. You're pretty Millie, trust me on this one OK?" the girl nodded but sighed unhappily.

"I thought this would be fun"

"What? The tournament?"

"Yeah"

"They're having a bad year that's all. Usually it's really fun"

At that moment Max and Rick walked into the café they all nodded and Hilary smiled as she watched Millie's face tinge pink. Rick made his way to a table and Max walked up to the counter.

"So" Hilary tried to change the subject, and making sure that Max and Rick were out of hearing she smiled and linking her fingers rested her chin on her hands "Millie how long have you had a crush on Max?"

"Hilary" the girls eyes widened "I don't…. I can't believe you would…. I… is it that obvious?" she whispered sadly

"Only to someone who's been there"

"You had a crush on Max?"

"Oh NO, I mean Max is a great guy but uh, noooo…. it is someone else, someone I will never admit my feelings to"

"Kai?" Millie enquired slyly

"Promise not to tell the others?" Millie nodded her eyes lighting up "Yeah I don't like it, I don't want it to be this way but it's Kai"

"I knew it!" Millie squealed, "What I don't get though is why, he seems so cold like he wouldn't do anything if he saw someone needing help."

"Well he's not and he would. He's saved my life more times than anyone else."

"Saved your life? Now that sounds like a story I'd like to hear!"

"Well how about I get us another drink and I tell you all about it." Hilary was glad of a chance to distract the girl

"Sounds good!"

"Hot chocolate right?" Millie nodded and Hilary made her way up to the counter.

"Hi Hilary!" Max gave her a smile,

"Hi!" Hilary noticed the Barista looking at her enquiringly "Oh I'd like one hot chocolate with cream and one caramel macchiato with a shot of espresso please." Hilary made her order and turned back to her friend "So how's things Max?"

"Good I guess, Michael and Emily have been less lovey dovey this week, how come you're here with Millie?" he nodded to the girl

"Oh, she kinda needed someone to talk to, she's having a rough day"

"Rough day?"

"Yeah you know Kendall?"

"Of team Thunderbolt?"

"That's him, he was trying it on pretty strong. She got scared."

"Is she alright?" Max was concerned as he turned to gaze at the pretty blonde, she was twisting her long plait around in a nervous way.

"She'll be fine but Max I was thinking, I'm not going to be at the stadium tomorrow could you just keep an eye on her?" Hilary did her best innocent look as she gazed at her friend, she had just started to formulate a plan that would help Max get over Emily once and for all. Ok so she had a job to do here but that didn't mean she couldn't have some fun playing matchmaker.

"Sure no problem!" Max looked back at Hilary giving his signature smile. "But maybe you should talk to her cousins,"

"She doesn't really want them to know about what happened, she should be OK but she's just kind of naïve, you know what I mean?"

"No, what do you mean?" Max asked completely clueless

"Well she's kind of trusting, and she doesn't even see how attractive she is, she thinks she's ugly if anything"

"Are you kidding me?" Max was given two coffees he thanked the girl for them and then turned to look at Millie "She's the prettiest girl in the competition."

"Really?" Hilary smiled this was going to be easier than she thought "So you'll just make sure she's OK tomorrow?"

"Sure!" Max walked over to his team mate and sat down. Hilary gave a triumphant smile operation Max and Millie was a go!

--

"Well it finally looks like this year is back on track" Stanley Dickenson smiled as he signed a form, "In a few days we will have finished these early preliminaries and be travelling to England for the next stage. I have to thank you both for all your hard work."

Hiro and Hilary smiled across the desk at each other, they had been working for hours making sure every loose end had been tied up. Co-ordinating the games, filling in insurance details, drawing up contracts for the press conferences. They were all very tired.

"Mr D" Hilary lifted her coffee cup to her lips "why don't you go to bed, Hiro and I can finish off here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" Hiro nodded "there's not much left to do and you have a meeting in the morning."

"Alright" the older man nodded "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Goodnight!" Hilary said taking a sip of her coffee.

As soon as Mr Dickenson had left the room Hiro jumped up and made his way over the mini bar.

"I need a real drink" he said getting a bottle of white wine from the fridge and grabbing two glasses form the nearby shelf "join me?"

"Why not?" Hilary smiled and accepted the drink he poured for her "It's been a long night." They sat for a little while drinking wine and working, soon they had finished their second bottle and decided to put their work away.

"How are you feeling?" Hiro asked "Is it good to be back?"

"Well even staying up till three doing this, beats a night in the restaurant" Hilary took another sip of her wine and shook her head. "How's things with Arelam?"

"We're fighting again"

"Oh," Hilary felt embarassed, she hadn't meant to pry

"We'll be OK, we just want different things sometimes"

"Like what?"

"She doesn't like all this travelling, she wants to settle down back home in Japan"

"And you don't?"

"I love this job, I love everything about it. The travelling, the games, the unknown."

"You have to settle down sometime, I mean what'll happen when Robin needs to start school?"

"I guess I never thought about all that."

"Well she obviously does."

"I just wish that sometimes she was a little more...,"

"More what?"

"More like you." Hilary blushed and began to pack her things up "I just mean… you're like her in that you don't beyblade but you like all this stuff, the travelling, the competitions. You're cool with it."

"I don't have a kid" Hilary had finished picking up her stuff and together they left the office Hiro locking up as he left.

"Speaking of kids Robin's learnt two new words"

"Oh really" Hilary felt her heart drop "what?"

"It sounded like 'bloody hard', you wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"No?" Hilary began to giggle "It really wasn't my fault!"

--

"So you have been able to keep a close watch on my grandson" Voltaire looked through the file named Kai Hiwatari

"It's actually been very easy for me" Horatio smiled as he poured himself a drink "Whisky?"

"Please! How has it been easy? If memory serves when Kai wants to disappear he does it very well"

"That was before he got so attached to the blade breakers"

"And watching the blade breakers is easy?"

"It is when my granddaughter is friends with them." Horatio said in an annoyed tone as he handed over the tumbler of strong smelling liquid.

"Little Hilary?" Voltaire took the glass and smiled "I thought you weren't going to let her be part of the Beyblade scene."

"I wasn't, but I needed Martin in Japan they moved out there when she was five. For a while she was fine, I told her beyblading was a waste of time and she believed me, she hated the sport. She refused to believe in bitbeasts, had no real clue as to what they were"

"What went wrong?"

"She met Tyson and that kid with the glasses, they were at school together. Tyson somehow made her see the games true potential." Horatio sighed "That boy has become the bane of my existence"

"I know how you feel" Voltaire gave a rumbling laugh "I have to admit if Tyson Granger had never come into it, my life would be perfection. I hear Boris reported to you today, has Kai or any of the others started to show symptoms yet?"

"We stilll don't know yet, we are thinking of changing our tactics a little."

"How so?"

"We need to become more intense, we'll search their rooms, we may even try setting up surveillance, thats if we can get away with it"

"If you can get away with it?"

"We have tried such methods before, your grandson is very thorough when it comes to cleaning."

"Yes" Voltaire nodded understandingly "I'm afraid that might be my fault, I may have raised him to be a trifle suspiscious. I notice that Brady isn't around here."

"Brady" Horatio poured himself a drink and sat down in a chair "he managed to escape, he had help"

"Who?"

"One of my grandsons, its not important we have it under some sort of control"

"Some sort?"

"My grandson is... He's not a problem"

"And your son?"

"Brady? He's still AWOL but I think that there is a chance he will pop up again soon."

"Good to hear, why do you think he'll come back?"

"Guilt, pure and simple. He will feel guilty for what he has done, he will return to try and put right his mistake. When he does so, we will be there waiting for him."

--

"Hey Hils?" Hilary looked over at Kenny and smiled

"What's up?"

"I was just on Facebook and it said that there are some new photos of you on here!"

"So?" Hilary walked over to where Kenny sat with his laptop

"So...I thought you might want to see them" Kenny's shoulders were shaking as he looked at the computer, suspiscous now Hilary looked over his shoulder and gasped

"Who the hell put them up?" she straightened up looking horrified

"It's from Tala's album called..." Kenny trailed of not daring to say anymore

"Whats the album called?"

"Aren't they cute together." for a little while he sat awaiting her reaction, when Kenny finally turned around he found himself sitting alone "Hilary?"

--

Teams Thunderbolt, PPB All Starz, Reformation and Blood Bladers all stood in a room listening as Mr Dickenson explained the next games.

"Now Kids I want you all to remember that these battles are the last stages of the preliminaries. After this only winning will be enough to keep you in the game.

Blood Bladers your up against Team Thunderbolt and PPB All Starz your up against Reformation. In order to go through to the next round today Blood Bladers you need to win, Team thunderbolt you either need a draw or a win. Reformation and PPB All Starz you both need at least a draw. Everyone clear?"

The team captains nodded.

"Good Thunderbolt and Blood Bladers your up first."

Millie stood playing with the end of her long plait, across the room she could see Kendall glance her way occasionally. She was OK here, she was with her cousins and surely Kendall wouldn't try anything. She kept reassuring herself but she couldn't stop herself from smiling as Mr Dickenson finished talking and team thunderbolt left the room.

Max stood staring at Millie she looked scared as hell! He could see her looking over at Kendall nervously, Max balled his hand into fists wishing he could smash the guys face in but knowing he probably couldn't. Finally Mr Dickenson was finished. Max smiled as he saw the other two teams leave the room

Both teams stood for a few minutes talking strategy, Team Reformation decided to go get something to drink while the PPB All Starz decided to watch the game. Max and Millie gave each other shy nods as they left the room, she blushed a little but was grateful that no one noticed.

Max watched the battles with interest, he noted that Kendall's form and power would make him a difficult opponent. The Blood Bladers lost and team Thunderbolt were through to the next round, Max watched as the raven haired Kendall left the stadium quickly. The PPB All Starz all made their way to the stadium when it was their turn, across from them Team Reformation stood incomplete.

Max frowned Millie was nowhere in sight, he looked at the screen and saw that Rick was up first against Anthon, then Michael was next with Jerome. Max realised that he was up last against Millie, he wondered where the young girl had gone and then remembered Kendall leaving the stadium.

"I'll be back in a bit" he hissed to Rick who nodded and let him go. After a second or two of thought he followed Kendall.

--

The Blitzkrieg boys were sitting in their dressing room, unknown to Kai the others were sneaking glances at each other

"So Kai?" Tala began "what did you get up to last nigh..."

He was interrupted by a loud and angry banging on the door "TALA!"

Kai frowned, there was no mistaking Hilary's voice and she sounded angry

"TALA YOU OPEN THIS DOOR OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL BREAK IT DOWN"

"We're naked!" Ian yelled hoping to buy them some time, it was in fact almost true, Tala, Kai and Spencer had only just stepped out of the shower and were all only wearing towels

"FINE!" Kai watched as the others breathed a sigh of relief

"Good thinking" Bryan whispered

"Yeah" Spencer agreed "I thought for su..."

At that moment there was a loud crash and the door swung open hitting the wall behind it "Hello boy's" the brunette grinned

"I said we were naked!" Ian exclaimed

"I've probably better, and bigger" Hilary smirked evilly as she turned to face Tala

"Holy Shit" Tala exclaimed as she bore down on him

"Care to explain to me about the photos?"

"Um...um...um" Tala muttered

"What photos?" Kai asked

Hilary kept her eyes firmly on Tala's face as she answered "The photos of us asleep after babysitting last night!"

"You didn't" Kai hissed dangerously

"I was drunk!"

"You were sober enough to put them on the internet"

"WHAT?" Kai joined Hilary in standing over Tala, it was at that point that Hilary noticed his semi naked state, she was deeply thankful that anger had already caused her face to go red because seeing Kai dripping wet and in only a towel was enough to make her face roughly resemble a very ripe tomato.

"Please don't kill me" Tala begged whimpering and flicking his gaze fearfully from one to the other "the others helped"

"Did not!" Ian argued looking to Spencer and Bryan for support, unfortunately they had both joined Tala in begging

"Please don't kill us!"

"Oh I think we can do better than that!" Hilary told them all.

Looking down at her Kai smirked, the last place you ever wanted to be was in Hilary's bad books, when she wanted revenge she got revenge!

* * *

Please R&R


	16. Revenge is sweet and painful

Quick on the update again, sorry guys!

I know how much you all hate it when I update too quickly.

I do not own beyblade

* * *

Millie was in the girls bathrooms, she had just taken her hair down and was brushing it when she heard a bang behind her. She jumped and dropped her hair clip which promptly smashed. Millie scowled now she would have to go back to the changing rooms for another. Leaving the bathroom she walked down the lonely corridors mentally cursing herself for being so stupid. She wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings so when she reached the changing rooms she was surprised to find herself being grabbed from behind.

"Hello again" Kendall smiled and began to reach for her face, Millie backed away.

"Leave me alone!" she tried to sound tough but cursed herself as the words came out as more of a whimper. Kendall only smiled and moved forward

The sound of a beyblade launching and zooming towards them caused Kendall to jump back, Millie fell to the ground and watched amazed as the beyblade returned to it's owner

"MAX!" Millie had never been more relieved to see anyone in her life, the fact that she liked Max had nothing to do with it (Ok well maybe it did!)!

"You OK?" Max walked forward and helped the girl to her feet, Max was looking incredibly angry as he walked forward, Millie was ever so slightly in awe of him as his cute face became a mask of angry hatred all aimed at Kendall.

"I am now!" all thoughts of how cute he was were gone as she saw Kendall return the angry look. Millie felt afraid for herself and Max, the thunderbolt was a lot larger than either of them and she stood clinging to Max's arm.

Kendall said nothing merely watching the two in front of him with that angry glint in his eye,

"Millie come on we're up in a minute." Max slipped an arm around the girls waist and led her away. They stopped a little distance from the entrance to the arena so that Millie could calm down. Max smiled at her as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Thanks!" she whispered shyly

"No problem, Hilary told me he had given you some grief yesterday"

"Is that all she told you?"

"Yeah why should she have said something else?"

"No, I just wondered" Millie gave a relieved sigh and reached nervously for her plait only to remember why she had been on her way to the locker room. "Oh no!"

"What?"

"I need to go to my locker" she looked fearfully back the way they had come "I need to go get something but he might still..."

"I can come with you if you like!" Max offered

"Really coul…"

"Would Max Tate and Millicent Davis please make their way t the stadium" The voice over the PA interrupted their conversation

"Looks like we're up!"

"We're battling each other?"

"Afraid so! Come on we better get going!"

"But my hair I need to tie it back" Millie ran a hand through her long blonde tresses, Max watched as the girls curly hair fell prettily around her shoulders

"Why?"

"I…I always have it back!" she shrugged unable to think of a better reason

"Well it looks really pretty down" Max smiled as the young girls face went a sweet shade of pink, "come on!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the stadium.

DJ Jazzman was just about to announce the match as a forfeit when Max and Millie appeared. They both apologised to their teams and holding tight to their blades and launchers made their way up to the dish.

It was an amazing battle both competitors threw their all into it, they both fought hard each of them unconsciously trying to impress their opponent at the same time as trying to destroy their blades!

Finally both their beyblades spun to a simultaneous stop, Max looked up panting and saw Millie drop to her knees exhausted. Max picked up their beyblades and walked over to the young girl.

"Good game" Max handed her the pink and purple beyblade smiling, "I hope we get to battle each other again"

"Well from the looks of that board both of our teams are through the preliminaries and into the actual championships" Millie nodded to the screen above them, Max looked up and saw that she was right.

"So, we might be up against each other again!"

"I certainly hope so cause next time, you're going down" she said challengingly as Max reached down to help her up, once on her feet she walked back to her team smiling broadly. Millie looked over her shoulder to see that he still staring after her, her smile widened to a point she had never thought possible, her hair swinging almost triumphantly as she walked to her cousins.

"Trying a new look?" Anthon asked his cousin as she joined them

"Huh?"

"Your hair," Jerome said "Aunty Pauline is going to go crazy when she see's your hair like that"

"You know what? I'm 17 its about time I lost the Heidi look" Millie ran a hand through her hair, it had gotten a little dishevelled during the battle but she still looked good. Max's compliment was going to stay with her for a long time.

"Great game Max!" Rick smiled as Max finally broke his gaze from Millie and made his way to the bench "She seems like a tough opponent"

"She was amazing" was the honest response from the blonde

"I don't know where she got that power from" Emily was sitting staring at her laptop confused "At one point I thought that she was done for and then she somehow managed to get some sort of power surge."

"Maybe she's just that good" Max looked down at Emily angrily "you don't have to analyse every little move she makes"

"I was just saying!"

"Well don't! Look Emily just stop being such a scientist and be a blader for once. In case you haven't noticed sometimes bladers no matter how exhausted they are still manage to win. There have been so many times that according to the data, I should have lost but didn't. You can't measure a persons will to win, sometimes the reason we win is because of the support we get, no computer can measure that. I proved that when we first met, don't forget it" And with that Max walked off Rick gave Emily a sympathetic smile before he walked away. One thing Emily had always been sure of was her power over Max, now it looked like he wasn't going to be so manageable!

Emily sat quietly as Max walked away, looking over at Team Reformation she was aware of a feeling of jealousy rising up in her chest. The way Max had stared after Millie was making her feel upset she had always been sure of a certain amount of power over her team mate but now it was like he was moving on.

--

"Mmmmm" Tala sighed as he shifted in his sleep, something had disturbed him but he rolled over and went striaght back to sleep

That is to say, he tried to!

"What the hell?" Tala tried to move but found he was cuffed to the bed "WHATS GOING ON HERE?"

He was lying there in **only** his boxers **handcuffed to the bed**!!

"HEY TALA?" Bryan was yelling from the other room "THEY GET YOU TOO?"

"WHO?" Tala yelled and then realised what a stupid question it was

"QUIT SHOUTING some of us are tryi..." Ian yelled "HEY WHATS GOING ON HERE?"

"GUYS WHY AM I CUFFED TO THE BED?" Spencer was yelling blearily "I know I didn't bring anyone back with me tonight!!"

"Hello" a singsong voice came from the door way, Tala looked up to see Hlary and Kai enter the room.

In the next second Hilary was standing by Tala's bed with a bowl in her hand, Kai was on the opposite side holding strips of what looked like paper

"Hilary I am so sorry" Tala whimpered as she stirred the mixture in the bowl "I took the pictures down I swear!"

"After about a thousand people copied and saved them and then posted them up on other sites. They are everywhere!"

"I am so sorry, I will make it up to you"

"Don't worry" Kai moved around to stand next to Hilary "we know you will"

Tala watched as Hilary took something from the bowl and smeared it on his leg, it felt warm and kind of nice. Kai handed her a strip and Hilary placed it over the area, Tala tried to watch but was unable to look but was held down.

"What are you...? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHH"

Tala screamed as Hilary ripped the strip from his leg.

"One down, many more to go!" Hilary giggled as Tala's scream caused the others to yell in terror

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?"

"SOMEONE HELP!"

"What the... wha...WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Tala yelled as soon as he could from coherent sentences

"Waxing" Kai told him smirking, "you'll have nice smooth legs tomorrow."

"No please" he whimpered as Hilary smeared more of the wax into his leg "PLEASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"God, you think this is painful?" Hilary asked smiling "you're just lucky you don't have to do it every 6 weeks on many other parts of your body. I always knew girls were tougher than guys"

"No they aren't!" Kai argued

"Care to prove that by having your legs waxed Kai?" she smiled as he glanced quickly at Tala and his face contorted with pain

"No, I'm good!"

--

In a locker room the next day the Blitzkrieg Boys were talking about their previous games, Tala had thought they had done pretty well, they had won two of the games and only lost one assuring themselves a place in the English games. Kai was arguing that they ought to have won every game and needed to train harder. Tala didn't really care about the subject he was just still pissed at Kai and wanted to argue over something.

All of the Blitzkrieg boys were feeling tender as they walked around, surprisingly enough very few people had heard anything last night.

The other Blitzkrieg Boys followed Kai and Tala as they walked out into the corridor and began a glaring contest, Bryan, Spencer and Ian rolled their eyes and pulled out their beyblades polishing them up in a bored way. The staring competition could have continued for hours, luckily though a friendly voice interrupted them.

"Well Kai nice to see that your being as friendly, as ever!" Kai turned to see Hilary's cousin Mac in his signature jeans and t-shirt standing behind him smiling cheerfully. With him was a man that Kai hadn't seen before, he was a dark haired, pale, sort of angry looking guy, on his arm stood a beautiful blonde with vague grey eyes, she wore a short skirt knee high boots and long sleeved v-neck top. When looking at her the word slut sprang to mind!

"Who's this?" Tala looked the strangers up and down, he gave the blonde a wink which sent her into a fit of giggles. The guy Kai didn't recognise glared at the redhead angrily

"I think they're here for Hilary" Kai told his team,

"That's right" Mac nodded "we were told she'd be around here somewhere"

"Come with me" Kai turned and motioned for Mac to follow him "I'll take you to her" Kai led the trio out of the room and took them to where he knew Hilary would be.

--

Hilary was sitting with Mariah and Matilda all drinking hot chocolate and giggling over what had happened the other night, the three girls didn't notice them until Kai coughed and got their attention. Hilary turned her face lighting up when she saw her cousin,

"Hey Mac" Hilary ran forward and threw her arms around her cousins neck; he smiled at her but pulled away, instantly Hilary became worried "What's wrong?"

The man Kai hadn't met before walked forward "Hello Hilary"

"Jake, Cheryl" she gave the woman a curt nod "why are you three here?"

"We have a Ianto situation" Obviously this had some sort of meaning and Hilary pushed her cousin away angrily, she marched back to the table and grabbed her bag,

"Sorry girl looks like we'll have to cut this one short!"

"What's going on?" Mariah looked up curiously

"You know I told you about my cousin Ianto?"

"The one who lost his wife?"

"Yeah something's up, I'm gonna have to go!"

"Hilary look…" Mac tried to say, Hilary put a finger to her lips and led them out of the room where her friends were sitting, once in the corridor Mac started again "Hilary look…"

"No! I will not look, I told you didn't I? I told you he shouldn't be there, how did he escape this time?" her eyes flashed as she glanced over at Jake angrily

"I don't know exactly" Jake said in annoyed tone

"You wouldn't, and I wasn't actually asking you. I was just glaring at you angrily cos I hate you"

Kai could hear the shouting and curious he made his way out into the corridor, so he could listen properly he stayed in the doorway out of sight.

"Well I hate you too"

"Hilary that Rehab had the best…."

"No Mac, I told you he wasn't happy, I told you he would get out! He's supposed to be in there for another three months but he's escaped again!" she started to walk down the corridor

"Where do you think you're going?" Mac yelled Hilary sighed and turned around

"He had this mate Eli from…from group therapy, he might know where he is. I'm going to go find my cousin" Hilary shrugged and started to walk away

"Hilary you can't travel to London, to look for him!"

"No your right I can't!" Hilary nodded with a fake serious expression "I think he's in Yorkshire, I'm going there" Hilary gave her cousins a smile and swung her large bag over her shoulder

"Hils aren't you due in England in a few days anyway?" Mac tried to reason with her "If you wait we could all be there to help you search for him."

"If I wait, when I get there it may be too late. And anyway I need to go alone if he sees anyone else with me he'll react badly."

"Hilary you are not going alone" Mac held her arm, "I refuse to let you go looking for our cousin in every crack den in London or Yorkshire, does Yorkshire have crack dens?"

"Refuse? You can't tell me what to do Mac"

"No but I can" Jake walked over to Hilary and grabbed her arms roughly, "I will not let you go and I refuse to let you associate with anyone that he met in some drug addict support group"

"No but you allow me to associate with that idiot of a girlfriend of yours, how long has she been off the booze now?"

"You will not talk about Cheryl like that!" Jake was getting angry now

"Why not? You're talking about Ianto like that, you're totally heartless"

"I have a heart!"

"Yeah you just keep it in the freezer" Jake raised his hand and swung at Hilary, she blocked the slap with one arm and gave him an icy stare. "Don't even try it" Hilary hissed at him

"OK, OK everyone just calm down" Mac stood in between the two and holding up his hands tried to reason with them "Look Hils how about we gather whatever family can come to England and then all go together, I know that you were going there soon so I'm sure Mr Dickenson will allow you to leave early. Jake you get on the phone to the grandfathers side I'll do grandma's side"

Jake nodded and turning walked away, his girlfriend gave Hilary an angry glare and then flounced off following her boyfriend. Mac brushed the girls cheek and gave her a tentative smile, "Are you OK little girl?"

"He was going to hit me" she stared after Jake shaking slightly from the anger she felt.

"He was angry, you shouldn't say stuff like that you know it riles him up"

"I wish he had hit me, I could have hit him back then."

"Hilary," Mac said warningly "theres more to this"

"Ianto lost his wife, he lost his home, and his job and then his children were taken into care how can he be so unfeeling?"

"There are reasons for all this, Ok? You don't know the full story, and no I'm not going to tell you it all! Look I'll call Shane he'll tell Jake to behave himself, now promise you'll wait till we get back before you go anywhere." Mac held her shoulders and stared into her eyes

"I promise" Hilary gave him a kiss on the cheek and he walked away smiling.

Behind her Kai smirked, Hilary was holding one hand behind her back and as she made the promise he watched her cross her fingers.

--

"He's what?" Horatio yelled down the phone angrily "well get him back, get him back now!" The phone was slammed down into it's cradle causing Voltaire to smile with mild amusement

"What's wrong H?"

"Ianto escaped from his rehab"

"Ianto? Which one is Ianto"

"Henry's son, but there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" Voltaire put his book down, the look in his friends eyes was making him worried

"I mean Ianto knows"

"He knows?"

"Yes" Horatio rubbed between his eyes sighing heavily "He's the one who helped Brady escape he knows everything. We sent him a warning but for a little while he still talked about telling everyone we had to take drastic measures."

"Drastic measures?"

"It's not imprtant what we did, it was such a relief when he started doing drugs again, no one believed him and his brain is so mashed I'm not sure that he remembers anything, even if he does remember people won't believe him. Having said that though, he and Hilary were very close. If she or any of the other cousins find him god knows how much he'll be able to tell them all. And if they believe him and do research..."

"Does it matter if he lives?"

"What?" Horatio turned to look at his colleague surprised

"You heard me, does it matter if he lives?" Voltaire watched his friend closely "Ianto, does it matt..."

"No" Horatio said decisively

"Then don't worry" Voltaire picked up the phone and dialled a number, "I may have been inside a long time but I have a few contacts. Hello?" someone on the other end had answered and for a few minutes Voltaire exchanged pleasantries "Look I need a favour... I have a problem, I want you to **deal **with it."

* * *

Ok people review in your own time, I will be around tomorrow with another chapter and maybe another one the day after but after that I will be gone for a while. Long story.

R&R


	17. Family Problems

Ok as promised here is the next chapter but I can't guarantee when I'll be back.

Thanks for the reviews though, I really loved reading them!

And thanks to all who favourited this

I do not own Beyblade, or James Bond

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The private jet had every luxury you could imagine a plane having, there were several large armchairs for seats and a mini bar at the back. To the front there was a large television and a huge selection of DVDs and games in front of a large plush sofa. Even the bathroom was spacious and had a shower, Hilary smiled as she boarded Mr Dickenson's jet she would be in England very soon and she could look for Ianto without any interference.

"Will there be anything else?" Mr Dickenson smiled at the young girl who was looking around in amazement, she had never been on his plane before.

"It's a lot better than flying commercial" she turned to face him a serious look in her eyes. "Just don't tell anyone please"

"Your lucky that I owe you for all you've done this year, and of course I wouldn't have let you go unless I knew you had sufficient protection"

"What do you mean by that?" Hilary asked confused

"He means me" the voice came from one of the large armchairs that was facing away form her

"Kai?" Hilary recognised the voice immediately and was shocked, he spun the chair around reminding her for a moment of a bad guy in a bond movie she almost expected him to be stroking a fluffy white cat. She walked up to him "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you don't get hurt" Hilary gave him a mystified look so he decided to explain "I heard you and your cousins talking, I also saw you cross you fingers behind your back after promising not to go after Ianto"

Hilary groaned as Kai smirked, the smirk bugged her so she snapped "While it's nice to know you care, I can look after myself"

"Sure you can!" Kai smirked at her derogatively "Come on Hils, lets face it you need help"

"Why are you so interested in helping me? None of involves you in any way" Hilary tried to stare Kai down as he stood and moved forward

"Because without you this BBA operation fell apart, I want to win this year, and…."

"And?"

"And it does involve me, you're my friend I want to make sure that you're OK" Hilary and Kai stood for a moment staring at each other, for a split second Hilary felt incredibly happy about what he had said but at almost the same instant she knew he couldn't come with her.

There was something he didn't know, something she hadn't told him, something that made this whole plan extremely dangerous.

"There's more to this than you know Kai. Your team need you, and no offence but your not exactly the 'be all and end all' when it comes to protection and if you get hurt you might not be able to play anymore!"

"And that's why we're here" Kai turned and looked just as shocked as Hilary when Tala, Ian, Bryan and Spencer walked onto the plane.

"What are you lot doing here?" Kai demanded

"Protecting our winning streak!" Sighing Ian threw himself down on one of the chairs and put his feet up on the chair opposite "Now this is the life!"

"We may hate you both right now!" Tala told them with a grin "but if you guys are going looking for trouble we're coming too!"

"We won all our games here we might as well be in London now anyway" Spencer added as he made his way to decide what DVD they should all watch.

"Guys you are not coming" Kai looked at them all, he had the fires of hell glowing in his eyes, "**We **don't need you! **We **don't want you."

"Actually **I****'****m **OK with them coming along" Hilary smirked enjoying the dark look Kai sent her way, she sat down on the opposite side of the plane and looked out of the window. "After all there's safety in numbers right?"

Kai stared at her realising that she was playing him at his own game, "Fine they can come" he made his way to the chair opposite her and sat down. One corner of her mouth was twisted up in a half smile, she had a mischievous look on her face. The rest of his team took their seats and chuckling heavily Mr Dickenson left the plane.

--

Spencer drove the rental car carefully through the dark Yorkshire moors, they were close to the house where they knew Eli would be. Suddenly the engine started to make a sputtering noise. The rest of the group had fallen asleep in the car but as the car struggled they all woke up

"What's going on?" Bryan pulled himself into a sitting position

"How long has that light on the dashboard been on" Kai asked

"Just a couple of miles" Spencer said clueless "But it was a pretty colour and I kind of liked it. Bad call?" The car shuddered to a halt and Spencer sighed "Bad call!"

They all got out and Ian looked under the hood trying to figure out what was wrong,

"Nothing I can do" he said, "I've got nothing with me, no tools, no parts. The battery's obviously working but there something very wrong with the engine."

Hilary looked at the car nervously, they were going to need it soon. She decided to tell everyone the truth about why she hadn't wanted company

"There's something I need to tell you all" Hilary said biting her lip nervously

"What?" asked Tala staring at the girl who was shuffling her feet nervously

"Eli isn't from Ianto's therapy group" Hilary blurted the words out not wanting to spin out the inevitable lecture she was going to get from Kai.

"Who is he then?" Tala watched as Hilary shuffled her feet some more

"He's kinda Ianto's _dealer_" she mumbled the last word embarassed

"What!?" Ian yelled shocked

"You were going to come out here in the middle of nowhere **alone **to find some drug dealer?" Kai couldn't believe that sensible, intelligent, always cautious Hilary could have decided to do something so stupid.

"Kai, Ianto's family" Hilary tried to explian "he's very important to me..."

"So that's still the dumbest thing I've ever heard of!" Kai was staring down at her angrily "And I have known Tyson the king of dumg ideas for years now!"

"Ok firstly, leave Tyson alone, he's my friend. Secondly my cousin means the world to me! Isn't there anyone in your life who you would… I don't know jump in front of a bus for, or just do anything, **anything **if it meant keeping them safe?" There was a long silence, while they waited for a response

"Yes"

"Yes what?" Hilary snapped

"Yes there is someone I'd do anything for, or jump in front of a bus for," Kai admitted "I too have someone I'd do anything to protect!" He looked up his grey eyes steely and determined.

"Oh, right..…" For a second Hilary was completely thrown, she hadn't expected him to say that "well then you know why I'm doing this. Of course now we no longer have a car as a getaway we ought to go back. I can't ask you lot to put yourselves in harms way not without a decent escape route."

Kai sighed, he looked into the distance and could just about make out a light, it must be where they were headed it was the only house for miles. Kai made his way to the trunk of the car and rummaged through it, there were four large torches, he looked at his team mates and handed out the torches. Luckily they were powerful lights and if they stuck to the road they would be fine.

"You guys came here to help you're going to help" Kai began to walk in the direction of the house, Tala Bryan Ian and Spencer exchanged looks, turned on their torches and then followed. "You coming Hils?" Kai yelled over his shoulder

Smiling Hilary locked the car and ran to catch up with the group, she walked along beside Kai, as they walked Kai slipped his arm through Hilary's in a protective gesture. He wasn't sure what they were about to walk into but he was damn sure whatever happened he wouldn't let her get hurt.

The other boys weren't exactly happy, who knew what kind of place they were about to end up. Tala looked at the young girl on Kai's arm, first of all he was amazed that Kai was voluntarily holding the girl, then as he looked up at his captain he saw Kai gaze down at Hilary. There was something in Kai's eyes. It was a look of concern and something else, something Tala had never seen in his friends eyes before, something he had thought he would never see in Kai's eyes. Tala couldn't be sure in the dark but it was a softness that seemed alien to the ice cold captain.

--

"Are you Eli?" They stood at the door to the small house, a thin pale man with dirty clothes and greasy blonde hair had opened the door slightly and was staring at them.

"Who wants to know?" The man gave them all a suspicious look, he made no move to open the door further.

"I'm Hilary Tatibana I'm looking for Ianto"

"Really?" the man looked mistrustful for obvious reasons, lets face it if you have a large stash worth thousands somewhere in the house you didn't trust anybody "I recognise you"

"Eli we met last year remember?" Hialry moved closer "At the Links"

"The bitch in the bar, I remember" Eli nodded smiling in an amused way

"The one that kicked your ass" Hilary said with a confident look in her eyes

"Hilary what the hell?" Tala stared at her surprised by this statement, suddenly the door opened all the way and the man allowed them to enter.

To put it plainly the place stunk, it was a strange mix of urine, vomit and alcohol. Only Kai seemed completely unaffected most of the boys gagged slightly, Hilary couldn't prevent her hand from going to her mouth. There were people lying around looking spaced out, as they entered one of the people threw up onto the man beside them, the man didn't even bother to wipe away the spray on his face he was to out of it to even notice. There were needles and other drug paraphernalia on the floor, immediately Kai was grateful that they were all wearing tough shoes, God knows what they could pick up if they accidentally got hurt on one of the needles.

"It's not very nice is it?" Eli was smirking at them enjoying their discomfort.

"Where's Ianto?" Hilary mumbled through her hand, the man nodded to the stairs

"First door on the right"

The brunette rushed up the stairs and up to the door Eli had described, she threw the door open and ran through. Kai had followed and was shocked by what he saw. On a bed lay a man with long greasy chocolate brown hair, he had pale skin and was shivering violently. Hilary sat carefully on the side of the bed and helped to pull the man up into her arms, she didn't seem to notice that the smell had gotten worse when they entered, she didn't even seem to care about the dirt and grime surrounding them.

"Ianto" she whispered gently

"Hilary?" The man opened his eyes and gazed up at her, his eyes were identical to hers "Hey little girl, I thought I smelt you" Hilary laughed and brushed his hair out of his face.

"Nice, real nice, how you could smell anything other than vomit in this place I'll never know." she brushed his hair away from his sweaty forehead "Oh Ianto what have you done this time?" she spoke in a soft voice she sounded like a parent comforting a child after a nightmare.

"You shouldn't be here"

"Neither should you, why did you run?"

"They made me talk about it, about her death. I can still smell the hospital I can still taste their coffee in my mouth, why do I have to talk about it?"

"It helps sometimes"

"Not me, why talk about it when you live it each night, and it's all my fault" by now the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys were in the room,

"It wasn't your fault"

"Yes" the man muttered almost dreamily "it was all my fault"

"Ianto I'm getting you out of here" she looked at the team "I might need some help guys"

"There's no point" Ianto put his hand on her arm and squeezed it comfortingly "I don't have much time"

"Oh my God Ianto what did you do?" the gentle tone she had been using so far left her voice and was replaced by fear, she checked his pulse he was fading fast "Oh god no, Ianto if you die I'm gonna...I'm gonna"

"Kill me?" Ianto laughed "Little girl" he put his hand in hers "I'm glad it was you that found me,"

"Ianto how much have you taken? What have you taken?"

"Enough."

Hilary looked horrified at this response, she could feel tears begin to form in her eyes, "You should have called me," she muttered tearfully "I would have helped you!!"

"No one could help me, but Hilary there is something you should know"

"What? What should I know?"

Ianto tried to sit up more as he said in a serious voice "You do right to break away from grandfather, leave his net and never ever return to him for help, no matter how much you need him."

Hilary moved away from him slightly, she was shocked by what he said. "Why? I don't understand?"

"He is not the man we all think he is"

"Ianto? What are you talking about"

"There's nothing I can tell you, I don't really have time, you'll find out soon but if you ever need protection promise me you'll go to Nigel"

"Ianto you're talking crazy"

"PROMISE ME" Ianto's hand tightened on her arm,

Kai could see that the man was gripping the girls arm far to hard, he moved forward to help her

"Ow, Ianto" Hilary cried out in pain and was immediately aware of Kai moving forward, she held up a hand signalling for him to stay where he was.

"PROMISE ME!" he looked pained Hilary watched tears roll down his face.

She wanted to cry too, she had seen him look like this before. Ianto had that look in his eyes, the one that he got while he was going cold turkey and wanted his fix. That pleading look that had broken her heart so many times. She brushed his hair again trying not to cringe at the greasy state of his hair, she nodded smiling, this time she could let him have what he wanted, this time she could agree.

"I promise" Hilary whispered a tear rolling down her cheek and immediately the look left his face, he smiled blissfully as he felt oblivion begin to take over

"Tell my kids I love them" the hand holding Hilary's went slack and looking into his eyes she could see from their glazed look that he was gone.

"What do we do now?" Tala whispered to Kai, the captain just shrugged and looked over at Hilary she wasn't crying any more she just looked shocked.

"We leave" Hilary stood and moved away from the bed she sent a quick glance through the door to where Eli was standing looking around angrily "we can't stay here. It's not exactly a good place to be"

--

Outside the house four men dressed in black checked their handguns making sure they were ready to go in.

"Now remember" the leader hissed angrily "We are there to get rid of Ianto, if there is anyone else we need to be careful, druggies or dealers aren't important but anyone from that photo we are not to hurt. Got that?" there were nods, the leader smirked as he said "Anyone else we shoot to kill"

--

Hilary and The Blitzkrieg Boys left Ianto in the room where they had found him, Hilary had covered him up and decided that it would be best to return later for the body.

Eli watched them all suspiciously "Are you going?"

"We will be in just a minute" Hilary replied as they all made their way down the stairs,

"You leaving the body?"

"I'll send someone to pick it up tomorrow" Hilary told him coldly

"What about…" Eli started to say when Hilary interrupted him harshly

"You'll get the money you're owed" Hilary then walked up to the dealer hissing "and if I ever find out that you've gone near a member of my family again I will kill you!"

"Oh really" Eli laughed amused "you only took me down last time cos I was drinking"

"I kicked your ass once I'll do it again if I have to. Then again I could be cruel do you want me to tell Nigel where you are?"

"You wouldn't dare" he murmured fearfully, they had all reached the bottom of the stairs now and were standing once more in the grotty front room.

"Oh wouldn't I?" Hilary laughed cruelly as she got closer to him "Just try me" Hilary then turned back to the Blitzkrieg Boys who were looking a bit surprised to see this side of her "lets go."

They all nodded and were about to move away from the stairs when the front door burst open with such force it was thrown from it's hinges, gunshots rang out across the room and things around them began to break and the people who were still lucid enough to be aware of their surroundings screamed.

Kai immediately jumped into action grabbing Hilary and practically dragging her up the stairs making his way back to the room where they had just been. Tala and the others followed keeping low and moving quickly. Once inside the room Kai looked around and went over to the window he had noticed earlier, the window was old and seemed jammed shut. Luckily for them the noise in the next room was continuing so Kai grabbed the lamp from the table and broke the window without worrying he might be heard. After he had cleared the window he jumped through and landed on the ground with ease. Tala and the others had not stood idly by while he did this, Tala and Bryan moved the chest of drawers in front of the door while Spencer and Ian looked around for anything that would help them, and making sure their torches hadn't been damaged unfortunately in the panic Tala had dropped his torch and left it on the floor, Bryans from the looks of it had been hit by a bullet, so now they now only had two torches.

Once Kai was on the ground Spencer guided Hilary to the window "you're gonna have to jump" he said and then noting the terrified look on her face he reassured her "Kai will catch you." Spencer gently lifted her though the window and dropped her directly into Kai's waiting arms.

Kai stood just below the window and caught her with such ease that anyone would have thought it was normal "You OK?" Kai asked, he could feel that she was trembling as he set her down

"Yeah" she nodded ignoring the sharp grinding pain in her arm, soon they were joined by the others, they ran quickly making their way back to the car. Kai noticed that Hilary was flagging but it was dark and there wasn't time to stop and check if she was alright.

Once back at the car they stopped breathless,

"Is everyone OK?" Kai asked, there were nods from the boys,

"Not really" Hilary spoke in a gasping whisper, they all turned to look at her, she was standing with one arm crossed across her chest, white and trembling. They couldn't see anything physically wrong with her.

"Hilary it's OK to be scared but we'll be..." Kai made his way over to her but stopped when she let out a forced laugh, "Hils?"

"I'm not scared, not really" and saying that Hilary looked down at her hand on her left arm.

"Oh my God" Tala whispered as he pointed at her

Blood oozed through her fingers and as she removed the hand the others could see where the bullet had penetrated and lodged in her skin. She looked unsteady and stumbled forward Kai moved quickly horror on his face, he caught Hilary in his arms and stared at her injury. She forced a small smile,

"Why is nothing ever simple?"

* * *

Slight One Tree Hill moment there! By the way I don't own One Tree Hill either!!

Please R&R


	18. Wounded!

Hey people sorry I took a while to update, work's been tough!

My apologies to everyone who asked me to update soon, I really didn't expect it to be too long.

Sophi and sky d: my special apologies to you as you both asked me to update soon and I didn't, I am glad you both loved it and I hope this chapter is satisfactory.

Marnie: so glad you got the one tree hill bit! I love one tree hill. As for Hilary's wellbeing, you'll soon see. Also you are one of the few people to give me their thoughts on the waxing, glad it was well recieved!

thinking-about-it: glad you like the chapters Ianto had to die I'm afraid, but you will find out more about him here. Hilary was hit on her left arm, she has her other arm across her chest and is holding her hand over the wound, sorry if that wasn't clear.

GoddessPheonix3173: I am guessing that by Hilary's mean streak you mean the 'revenge' she and Kai doled out, heh heh. Hilary always seemed to me to be a person that put other people first, if someone was in trouble she'd seek them out to try to help!

Tir na noir: Glad you thought it was exciting, I always worry when I write action or fight scenes that they will come across as boring, glad you liked it

ari dark princess: don't worry if I killed Hils off this quickly it would be a very quick story

Sorry again for being slow on the update! It was kind of a nasty cliffhanger to leave you on but I'm sure none of you got too upset over it. Bit of a long one here to make up for it!

I do not own Beyblade or Dr Who

* * *

**Previously on Things are Changing**

"_Is everyone OK?__"__ Kai asked, there were nods from the boys,_

"_Not really__"__ Hilary spoke in a gasping whisper, they all turned to look at her, she was standing with one arm crossed across her chest, white and trembling. They couldn__'__t see anything physically wrong with her._

"_Hilary it__'__s OK to be scared__"__ Kai made his way over to her but stopped when she let out a forced laugh, "Hils?"_

"_I__'__m not scared, not really__"__ and saying that Hilary looked down at her hand on her left arm. _

_"Oh my God" Tala whispered as he pointed at her_

_Blood oozed through her fingers and as she removed the hand the others could see where the bullet had penetrated and lodged in her skin. She looked unsteady and stumbled forward Kai moved quickly horror on his face, he caught Hilary in his arms and stared at her injury. She forced a small smile, _

"_Why is nothing ever simple?"_

**And now ...**

* * *

As Hilary let go of her arm and you could see blood trickling down from a small bullet shaped wound.

Kai allowed her to sit on the ground as he looked at her wound, the moonlight and her orange jacket meant that he couldn't see it propery, she stared at his face her whole body trembling with shock, she had felt something but she had never realised that it was a bullet.

"Kai?" he looked up and saw that she was trembling

"It's going to be OK" he put a hand to her cheek and looked into her eyes, she stared right back and then looked down a little feeling afraid, she knew Kai well and he looked worried.

"Oh my god, Hilary, how did we not notice!" Spencer gasped

Kai picked her up and moved her over to the car, Bryan unlocked the door and opened it so Kai could sit the girl inside. Luckily the lights in the car were still working, obviously the battery still had some power. Kai had turned on the light so he could see better. There was quite a lot of blood "I'm gonna need to see your arm" Kai said "I need to, need to….take your jacket off" she grinned and nodded allowing him to slip off the orange jacket.

Tala pulled out his phone "what's the number for an ambulance?"

"911?" Spencer asked

"No, that's America," Bryan corrected him "in England it's 999" Tala nodded and dialled 999, when he had finished he swore loudly

"What's wrong?" Kai asked a nevous edge to his voice,

"Because we're in the middle of nowhere there's no one nearby. They can't get here for ages, it might be over an hour"

"Shit" Kai swore as he looked at the wound, he had hoped that it might only be a flesh wound but he could see that the bullet was embedded in her arm.

"That bad huh?" Hilary asked "You guys can look you know" As the other Blitzkrieg Boys turned to see the wound, she tried not to notice their looks of horror and asked "does anyone know any first aid?"

There was an apologetic shaking of heads she smiled this was so typical, how did she manage to get into these ridiculously stupid circumstances? Normally it was because she was friends with Tyson Ray Max and Kai, that's how she usually got into these situations! This time though it was all her fault, it was her cousin, and her idea. She sighed and knew she needed to take control.

"I need my bag" Hilary whispered, Ian went to the trunk where they had left their bags and brought it to her Everyone crowded around.

"Right, Ian open my bag and get my first aid kit out, oh and there's a small make up bag in there I'm gonna need that too." Ian did as she asked, he then opened up the bag and kit and laid it on the seat next to Hilary. "I'm gonna need some help with this"

Kai looked at the wound and seemed unable to move, he was blaming himself for not having helped her. He was afraid of making a mistake and now he seemed unable to help her all over again.

"I'll do it!" Tala took in his friends unmoving form, he went around the car and got in on the other side to sit beside the girl "what do you need done?"

"Well first get the disinfectant out of the first aid kit and unscrew the lid, now my tweezers should be inside my make up bag" Tala silently did as he was told "Now pour some disinfectant on the tweezers then pass me the bottle" Hilary took the bottle and gritting her teeth poured some of the foul smelling liquid on to her wound, she hissed in pain tears welling up in her eyes. "Tweezers!" she whispered Tala passed them over and trying to ignore the burning pain she felt Hilary pushed the tweezers into the hole in her arm and carefully proceeded to remove the bullet. It was tricky and for a few seconds she thought she was going to pass out, partly from the pain but also from the realisation that she was doing this on herself. She stared at the ceiling for a second grunting and crying out from the pain, then she looked back at the arm, she needed to be careful here one wrong move and she could do some permanent damage. Finally she gave a weak but triumphant smile as she removed the tweezers and allowed the bullet to drop to the floor.

"Are you OK Hils?" Kai watched as her face contorted with pain, she was breathing heavily but she nodded giving a half hearted smile..

Hilary grabbed a wad of dressing from her kit and pressed it onto the wound "I'm fine! The blood's a good colour,"

"Were you expecting it to be green or something?"

Hilary laughed at Spencer's comment "No, it's just if the bullet had hit an artery the blood would have been a darker red and I'd probably be about to bleed to death!"

"Oh!" Spencer nodded understandingly though he actually had no clue what she meant

"How come you know all this?" Bryan asked

"I'm going to be a doctor," Hilary smiled as she inspected her arm "This is probably good practice, of course I don't know many doctors who can say they have operated on themselves. Right I need a bandage"

"There aren't any!" Tala searched some more but couldn't find them, "I can't find any bandages" Hilary leant her head back and groaned, she dimly remembered Daichi and Tyson at the museum talking about tricking someone into thinking that a mummy had come to life. She could only guess that they had raided her kit, she should have checked before she left.

"Why is nothing ever simple?" she asked shrugging her shoulders angrily then crying out in pain as the movement angered her wound.

"Use this" Hilary turned to see Kai remove his scarf and hold it out, Hilary made no argument instead she took the long scarf and tore a strip from it, with Tala's help wound it around her arm, Hilary once more, cried out in pain as Tala tied the white material tight.

"Shit that hurt" Hilary laughed as she tried to hide just how bad the pain actually was, she leant her head back against the wall and closed her eyes "in my make up bag I have some painkillers can you get them?" Kai rooted around and finally came up with the necessary pills, Hilary took them and with a little difficulty swallowed them down without any water. "I owe you all, I really owe you all"

"You don't owe us a damn thing, Hilary is there anything else we can do?" Kai held her hand tightly as though trying to giver her the strength she needed

"Not really but I need to stay awake. Don't let me sleep."

"I won't, talk to me."

"About what?"

"Anything, why don't you tell me about Ianto."

"Ianto, he's a cousin. When I was a kid he lived for a few years in Japan, we were really close even though I was about five and he was seventeen. He was an English guy through and through he loved tea how the British drink it, he adored fish and chips and something called cream teas. There was a TV series called Dr Who and he was obsessed with it, we used to sit every Saturday morning watching that damned show"

"What's Dr Who?"

"The longest running sci-fi show in history..." she was mumbling again starting to feel very sleepy

"Surely that's Star Trek?" Kai asked trying to keep her talking

"Nope Dr Who." Hilary laughed exhaustely to herself as she said this "Anyway Ianto, had a problem, drugs! We got him into a rehab and to get him away fom his old friends and dealers, he moved back to England when he was twenty two. He got a job, and a wife. They were so happy together you could... see it in their eyes, they were so..." Hilary's own eyes began to close and she started to mumble drunkenly at this bit. Kai shook her gently

"Keep talking Hilary, come on stay with me"

"I'm trying, what was I saying?"

"You were going to tell me about Ianto's wife"

"Ianto's wife? Oh yes" Hilary opened her eyes wider and shook her head slightly "It was after their second child was born Ianto was in Russia on business. One day he came home and found his kids Pete and Ben home alone. They were just 4 years old and 8 months old, he panicked the car was gone so he got onto the police. They found the car smashed into a tree, she died on impact. No one reallly knows what happened, why she left the kids home alone, why she crashed, the car had only been serviced a week before, the brakes were fine, the weather had been fine the road was a deserted one. The only explamation was that someone had tampered with the car, but I don't know why anyone would do that. She was only 24, Ianto was only just 27 and now he had lost the love of his life, he had two kids to worry about a job that he loved but didn't have the heart for it anymore. He started to take stuff to stay awake at work, he got caught more than once and eventually Grandfather had him fired. He then had two kids no money and an addiction, he wouldn't let anyone help, one of the neighbours made a complaint and social services turned up. They found the kids crying and Ianto passed out in the middle of the floor. They took the kids away and then he was alone. He started taking more and more stuff anything just to get that high, finally about a year ago we had an intervention we got him clean for a while but he relapsed. I was busy with you guys and I couldn't be there, maybe if I had things would have gone differently but there we are, with hindsight we're all geniuses." again her head fell to one side and her eyes started to close "I just don't understand why Grandpa didn't help him more, we could have…"

Kai could hear a siren, "Hilary come on!" he shook her desperately "stay with me. I need you...to stay with me"

"I'm trying Kai I'm really trying!"

--

Back at the house they had left behind the leader of the attacking group stood loooking down on Ianto's cold body, he sighed obviously the guy had died before they got there. Everything they had just done had been for nothing. It wasn't that he minded what he did, killing a load of junkies and dealers wasn't a bad thing in his mind but he didn't like his time to be wasted.

"Sir?" he turned to find one of his team standing with a cell phone in his hand

"Thanks" he took the phone

"Well?" Horatio Tatibana's voice came through sounding cold and harsh

"He's dead, OD'd"

"Good, did any of my family get there before he died?"

"I don't know" he answered honestly "I didn't see any of them here"

"Good, I'll be in touch." Horatio hung up quickly, the man stared at the phone angrily. He didn't like being at the beck and call of a man whom he had never met but the pay was good.

Slowly he went down the stairs, "what do we do sir?" His men stood awaiting orders.

"We clean up, remove anything that could link either us or our boss to this scene, give the junkies untraceable guns. The local police aren't going to look into this one too carefully, they have wanted rid of this place for ages and now the jobs been done for them. Nobody is going to care about any of this"

While his team all got to work the man thought about the room upstairs, the door had been barricaded and the window broken, someone had obviously escaped but there was no danger. No one had seen their faces, no one would be able to trace them, no point in going after a few smackheads who no sane person would ever believe.

--

"I'm really sorry for your loss" Kai inwardly kicked himself, those words sounded so plastic so cliché .

It had been over an hour since the nurse had left them and a recently patched up Hilary lay unmoving on the hospital bed, Kai was sitting next to her the rest of the team had left, Mr Dickenson had arranged a hotel for them and the others had decided to get home for a shower and some sleep.

"Thank you Kai" He looked at her "Thank you for everything"

"What do you mean? I didn't get you there in time to save him."

"No but you got me there in time to say goodbye, that's enough" she gave him a smile "If I had waited with my brothers and cousins, I wouldn't have been able to say goodbye"

"You probably wouldn't have gotten shot either" Kai sounded angry as he looked at her bandaged arm

"Ah well you win some you lose some!" Kai watched as she dissolved into giggles, gradually the giggles became sobs and soon she was crying violently, Kai put his arms around her and held her tight. For a while they just stayed like that, Hilary crying and Kai holding her until he felt her begin to calm down, and soon she was completely still, he wondered if she was asleep when he looked down he saw that she wasn't, she was just calm. She lay back on the bed and Kai sat holding her hand until finally, helped along by the medication she slipped into unconsciousness.

--

Kai got out of the elevator and made his way down the corridor to his room, he was confused. Why had a bunch of men with guns attacked that place? It had been a professional attack there was no question of that. He tried to think of various explanations but somehow he doubted that rival drug dealers were gunning each other down in the Yorkshire countryside. It couldn't have been anyone in an official capacity, police don't just raid places with guns blazing, well not in England anyway, he wasn't even sure if British police normally carried guns.

Kai got to his door and swiped his card key

"How is she?" Tala was sitting in their shared room waiting, Kai was glad he was sharing with Tala, Spencer Bryan and Ian would be sharing and those three snored louder than Tyson with a cold.

"The doctors say she'll be fine, apparently she did a good job on that arm they were actually pretty impressed."

"So was I," Tala admitted "but that's not what I meant. How is she feeling?"

"Tired, upset" Kai removed his shoes and threw himself down on the bed.

"How are you?"

"Fine"

"Kai?" Tala had turned to look at his friend

"Not now Tala" Kai hissed "I'm not in the mood."

"You really care about her don't you? You like her as more than just a friend" The words shocked Kai, it was as though someone had just punched him in the gut, how the hell had Tala come to that conclusion?

Kai sat up and stared at his friend, "She's a good friend" he said refusing to dignify the statement with a decent response "I guess you could say that she's family."

"I don't mean like that"

"Well I don't know what you do mean then" Kai lay back down and turned to face the wall

"Surely you'll admit that she's the one you'd 'jump in front of a bus for'!" Tala smirked

Kai tried to pretend that he didn't remember what he had said earlier "I don't know what your talking about"

"When she asked you earlier if there was someone you'd jump in front of a bus for, you said yes. I could tell you meant her"

"I don't know what your talking about" Kai repeated

"I'm talking about the way your eyes light up when she comes into a room, about how when she leaves a room you watch her go. When your sitting anywhere expecting her to come through the door you watch for her, when the door opens and it's not her you get disappointed and when it is her for a split second you smile. You love her!"

Kai turned and stared at his team mate before saying flatly "You're losing it Tala." Kai rolled back to face the wall trying to block out what his friend was saying.

"Kai she cares about you too." Tala ventured to say

"Don't say that" Kai practically shouted the words at his friend

"Why not?"

"Even if that were true" Kai finally admitted "look, maybe if I was normal I'd consider putting myself out there and finding a girlfriend, **maybe **even Hilary! But saying that..., Tala we're different from other people you know that" Kai shook his head sadly "I could never offer her what she needs. I could never promise her a future"

Tala felt like cheering as he looked at his friend, he had almost gotten Kai to admit to feeling for Hilary. If Kai hadn't been around Tala would have done a victory dance. Kai sat up again and looked at his friend, instantly Tala's mood was brought down as he saw the sorrow on his friends face.

"Kai so far we have been able to lead pretty normal lives, what's inside of us hasn't changed anything much" Tala tried to forget the bleeding he had suffered, it had happened more than once now and he was beginning to get used to it.

"Yeah so far! We don't know what we'll be like in the future" Kai was also thinking about the bleeding under his fingernails, neither boy had told anyone not even each other what they were suffering and they were unaware that the others were all having the same problem.

Tala wanted to talk to Kai but at the same time he didn't want to. If he told Kai that something was wrong he might think that they were all going to suffer, perhaps only Tala would suffer the bleeding. After all Tala was the only one that had been subjected to the rapid cybernisation process. The others had, had cybernites introduced into their bloodstream slowly, Tala was pretty sure that he was the only one suffering.

"Kai we…"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore" Kai lay down again and rolled over so that his back was facing Tala. Tala sat for a minute just staring at his friend, he knew that Kai felt something for Hilary, he was pretty sure it was love, but he also knew that pushing Kai to admit this could make him regress back to his cold stoic persona and damage his chance of admitting his true feelings.

"So she's fair game then?" Tala asked in one last ditch attempt to make Kai react and confess

"Yeah" Kai hissed angrily "she's fair game."

--

'I do not love her, I don't love anyone'

Kai couldn't stop thinking about what Tala had said last night, while he was willing to admit to himself that Hilary was a good friend, one of his best, there was no way it was possible that he loved her. She was Hilary, one of the team, one of the gang, often referred to as one of the guys, there was no way that it was love he felt for her.

What he felt was friendship, yes friendship pure and simple! But then again recently he had become more aware of her, more aware of her looks, more aware of guys looking at her. He had always figured up until now that the reason he didn't like guys looking at her because she seemed so unaware of it, he just thought he was wanting to protect her but maybe… NO! No Hilary was friend, Yes a friend

By the time he had reached this conclusion Kai had arrived at the door to Hilary's hospital room "friendship" he muttered as he twisted the handle and walked in.

Hilary was lying on the bed fast asleep looking pale and wan, Kai looked at her and went to sit next to her, the urge to hold her hand washed over him so reiterating his thoughts of friendship he did.

'Nothing wrong with holding her hand, friendship, it's only friendship' he thought as he watched her sleep 'she is a friend, a good friend, all I feel is friendship!'

Just then Hilary opened her eyes, she looked a little dazed and then seeing Kai she grinned, she looked so pleased to see him. He smiled back at her as she stretched she looked like she wasn't sure if he was real or not

'I love you' Kai thought to himself, suddenly realised what he had thought 'DAMN IT!!'he closed his eyes and shook his head angrily 'No I don't'

"Kai?" Hilary looked at him confused "Are you OK?"

"Yeah." Kai stopped shaking his head and looked at her "just worried about you I guess"

"I'm fine" Hilary shifted in the bed so that she was sitting up "how about you?"

"I'm fine, a little tired"

"How come?"

"I was on the side of the room next to Bryan, Spencer and Ian's room"

"What's wrong with that?"

"I could hear them snoring through the wall" Kai replied, Hilary went off into a peal of laughter, Kai chuckled "it's not that funny"

"Oh come on Kai" Hilary said giggling "you've shared a room with Tyson surely they can't that bad"

"Compared to them Tyson is almost silent." Kai realised that Hilary was still laughing at him, for some reason Kai joined in,

"Just be grateful there are worse things"

"What do you mean?" Kai was curious

"I mean last time I was in China visiting Mariah she and Ray were in the same cabin as me"

"They were snoring?"

"No they were making other night time noises" Hilary raised an eyebrow

"Oh! Well I'm glad Ian Bryan and Spencer weren't those noises"

"It would have been a little worrying" she giggled Kai couldn't help but chuckle as he and Hilary talked, she was going out of her way to stay on lighthearted subjects and soon the two of them were talking about old times. Laughing and joking about general things, old memories, habits of their fellow beyblader's and team mates. Kai realised that she was trying to distract herself from the events of yesterday so he decided not to question her about her opinions on what had happened.

Hilary tried to stay cheerful and the more she pretended to be happy the better she felt, asides from anything else it was nice to have Kai to talk to. This was the most she had ever seen Kai laugh and she was enjoying it, he had a deep laugh that seemed to rumble from the back of his throat

--

"Uh Guys?" Bryan looked into Hilary's hospital room and was stunned by what he saw, he and the boys had awoken to find Kai already gone and after a brief discussion decided to join him at the hospital

"What?"

"Kai's laughing and not you know chuckling over someone else's misfortune, he's actually laughing"

"Yeah and I spy the four horsemen of the apocalypse!" Ian joked as he looked through the window "Whoah you gotta be shi…."

"What?" Tala and Spencer looked in and were equally shocked, Kai was sitting holding Hilary's hand in his own and looked almost human, he was actually grinning as he said something causing them both to laugh.

The Blitzkrieg Boys were shocked Kai grinning? Laughing? Call the media, call the government, call Ghostbusters, this was as weird as things got!

"Did hell freeze over?" Bryan looked over at Tala as he said this

"Why are you asking me?" Tala asked offended as he punched his team mates arm "how should I know?"

Bryan rubbed him arm, just then a doctor passed them in the corridor and walked round the corner at the end, "I gotta go" Bryan mumbled as he slipped away and followed the man.

"Whats up with him?" Spencer asked watching him go

"Probably asking the doc where he can get a labotomy" Tala joked

"A what?" Spencer asked, Tala looked at his friend annoyed at his stupidity

--

"Hey Doc!" Bryan caught up with the doctor

"Can I help you?" the man asked smiling in a friendly way

"Yeah I was just wondering, if a guy started I dunno bleeding from the fingernails, what would that mean exactly"

"Was there any cut or damage to the hands?"

"No"

"Well without a blood sample I can't really make a diagnosis"

"Is it something to worry about though?"

"It could be something quite harmless but whoever is suffering this bleeding needs to see doctor and fast"

"Right" Bryan nodded "I'll tell my friend you said so"

* * *

The last two chapter may seem to have nothing to do with the rest of the story but don't worry it will all make sense soon!

Ok so now we know all the Blitzkrieg Boys are having trouble with the bleeding.

Please R&R


	19. Friendships

Thanks for the reviews people! Don't you just love getting reviews? It tells you someone actually read your story!

By the way that wasn't a hint for more reviews. Oh who am I kidding? Course it was!!

Quick shoutout to all my reviewers!!

Sky d: you may not understand English very well but I love that you **always **comment! Glad you like the story so far.

GoddessPheonix3173: A fellow Brit!! I am such a geek I love Doctor Who, I did actually grow up, with it my dad was a huge fan and had tapes, we used to watch them together. I'm glad you think I kept Kai in character, it's so hard to write funny and emotional scenes for someone who doesn't like to show emotion

Sophi: Updating soon as requested, I hope this update was quick enough for you all!

Simplemoon: you have just reviewed chapter one and thank you so much for your comment! I hope you liked the rest and the stuff yet to come!

thinking-about-it: I'm glad people thought this was hilarious, I am always worried that a joke will fall flat and no one will get it

* * *

I do not own Beyblade,

* * *

This chapter starts right after the last one ends.

--

"I'm sorry to interrupt you and your boyfriend" immediately Kai and Hilary realised that they were still holding hands and immediately whipped them into their laps

"Oh we're not…."

"We're just…."

"I see, sorry" the nurse smiled "there's a phone call for you" she moved to the wall and took the phone down.

"Thank you" Hilary put the receiver to her ear "Hello?" Hilary visibly brightened "Hey Shane!"

"Hilary I just heard, are you alright?" Shane sounded worried

"Fine, got an impressive scar, but I'm sick of hospital food and bored of being stuck here!"

"Oh good, maybe that will teach you a lesson! Hilary you shouldn't have…."

"Please Shane, I've already had mum on the phone going crazy."

"Ok little girl, as long as you're alright" there was a pause "did you get to Ianto in time, did you see him?"

Hilary paused, what Ianto had said was still bugging her, she looked pointedly at Kai as she answered "No, Ianto was dead when I got there. I was too late."

Kai gave her an odd look but nodded understandingly, he slipped from the room out to where his team were sitting eating sandwiches and drinking coffee

"Hey Kai, hungry?" Ian asked holding out an un-opened sandwich box

Kai moved so that he was crouching in front of them, they all shifted forward curiously to hear what he had to say "Have you talked to anyone about what happened at the house?" he hissed

"With Ianto?" Tala asked quietly, Kai nodded "I haven't told anyone"

The rest of the team nodded agreeing that they hadn't told anyone "Well don't, if anyone asks he was dead when we got there."

"Why?"

"I don't know exactly, but Hilary's lying about it. I think something that guy said is making her nervous"

"He was high!" Spencer said disbelievingly

"No" Kai shook his head "he said something and it's made her worried, she's refusing to talk about the whole thing. That's not like her." he stood and looked back into the room, Hilary was talking cheerfully but she didn't look happy. He cast his friends a worried glance before turning and walking away.

--

Horatio Tatibana was pacing angrily up and down in his office, Voltaire was watching him with some amusement.

"Stop looking at me like that" Horatio thundered

"She's alive isn't she?"

"She was **shot**, by one of your men"

"Horatio, if the Blitzkrieg boys go full circle it's not like we need her anymore...,"

"I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HER DEATH" Horatio turned and lifted his friend from the chair "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"You **do **care about her" Voltaire was surprised, it had always been unusual for either of them to really care about their children or grandchildren.

"She… she is like her grandmother" Horatio let go of Voltaire and looked over at the picture on his desk, it was a wedding photo and showed a woman remarkably like Hilary. "it doesn't help that she even has her name"

"Hilary Tatibana, she was a remarkable woman" Voltaire took his friends arm in a comforting gesture "you must miss her"

"Every day" Horatio nodded showing briefly a slight vulnerability "you must miss Natalya"

"I do, we both lost our wives too soon" Voltaire nodded a sad look on his face, both men were in danger of becoming sentimental and morbid so Voltaire spoke quickly "Look in the future I'll make sure everyone is careful"

"Thank you" Horatio sighed "I apologise for getting so emotional."

"That's alright" Voltaire laughed "if you can't show your oldest friend emotion who can you show it to? Just because I don't care about Kai doesn't mean you can't care about Hilary, I **always **thought of Kai as dispensable."

"I wouldn't have hesitated to put plan A into action you do know that, don't you? If plan B fails we can still use plan A"

"Of course, but plan A never involved Hilary dying did it?" Voltaire raised one eyebrow challengingly.

"No, but it would have hurt her eventually" Horatio paused and looked at the ground, all these years he and Voltaire had made plans but he had never imagined that it would hurt so bad to know that it was his fault Hilary was hurt.

Voltaire noticed the mans low mood, in an attempt to raise it he asked "So how is she?"

"She's leaving hospital in a couple of days, nothing too bad."

"Do you know if Ianto told her anything?"

"She says he was dead when she got there." this was said with carelessness, obviously Horatio cared very little about Ianto in comparison to Hilary.

"You believe her?"

"Yes, whatever he may have told her she would have no reason not to trust her cousins, it was Shane who asked, he spoke to her yesterday. I monitored the call, she trusts Shane, looks up to him, he was her childhood hero. Don't worry we're safe."

This was said but neither man really believed it, all their plans were hanging by a thread at the moment and it wouldn't take much for that thread to snap.

--

Hilary lay in the hospital feeling bored and uncomfortable, it had been a long day and Kai hadn't been to visit her yet. The other teams were all arriving in England over the next few days and the Blitzkrieg boys had all headed to London to be at the hotel when they and Mr Dickenson arrived. Kai had promised to come visit the minute he could get away but it was now four in the afternoon and she didn't hold out too much hope that he would make it.

The nurse smiled as she checked her blood pressure "This will just take a moment"

There was a knock at the door

"Come in?"

"Hilary?"

"Brooklyn!" Hilary was a little confused as the redhead looked in

"Move it B" Ming Ming pushed her team-mate out of the way and burst into the room "Hilary OH MY GOD! I can't believe you got shot! Do you have any idea how cool that is? You could build an entire career just on that! Did it hurt? Did you scream?"

"Ming Ming she probably doesn't want to talk about it right now!" Hilary grinned as Mariah followed the aqua haired pop princess "Oh Hils" Mariah ran forward and embraced her friend

"Ow Mariah my arm!"

"Sorry" she pulled away apologetically "does it hurt a lot?"

"Not really just when people **hug** it" Hilary grinned "And I can get out of here tomorrow, right?" the last part was addressed to the nurse who smiled and nodded

"That's right!"

"Great when you get to London we can have a girls night in." Ming Ming declared "thats if the record company have got off my back about my new video, apparently its too controversial!"

"Sounds interesting!" Hilary giggled, Ming Ming's latest video was causing a lot of annoyance, she had gone for something edgy this time and with Ming Ming's fan base mainly consisting of the ages 11-16 it was raising some eyebrows.

"I want to hear all about the shooting" Mariah leaned in to whisper to Hilary "about how Kai was your hero again! I can think of a few ways you could thank him..."

"Mariah" Hilary hit her friend on the arm, there was a knock at the door and Kai entered the room holding a parcel under his arm.

"Hilary?" he was surprised to see the other people there, "Hi Brooklyn, girls" He looked over at Hilary he had noticed her blush as he came in "are you OK?"

"Fine" she glared at Mariah who was giggling uncontrollably, she noticed the slim parcel he was holding "what's that?"

"Oh, well you said that you were getting bored so I brought you this, I remembered that it was you're favourite when you were younger" He held out the book

"Little Women, Thanks Kai!"

For a moment they were both oblivious to everyone else in the room they just smiled awkwardly at each other.

"All the other nurses keep saying what an attentive boyfriend you have, how sweet" The nurse walked briskly from the room totally missing the protests from the 'couple'

"She's right sweet" Mariah cooed

"Very sweet" Ming Ming agreed

"I think we should go get some coffee" Brooklyn quickly herded the two girls out of the room and away from the two killer glares headed their way

"I hate it when people just assume like that" Hilary hissed blushing madly

"Well maybe I shouldn't have visited so often" Kai told her, as he walked away from the bed to stare out the window, he was finding it even more difficult to talk to her these days. He had never had to deal with feelings like this before and now he was finding it confusing being with her.

"No!" Hilary protested "I liked having you come visit"

"I know but I can see why they assumed, it was a bad idea"

"Well if you want you could just go" Hilary told him looking hurt, maybe Kai had never wanted to visit and was looking for an excuse to stop.

"Well I couldn't stay long anyway, I better get back. Bye Hils" Kai walked quickly out the door refusing to look back. Annoyed Hilary hurled the book after him, it hit the door and flopped to the floor.

"Idiot" she looked down at the book for a minute and then sighing got out of bed and picked it up. Returning to her previous position she opened it up to the title page.

_To Hilary_

_You once said that this was your favourite._

_Come back soon, we really do need you around_

_Kai_

"Damn him!" Hilary muttered blushing and smiling as she looked at the message on the front page "No matter what he does, however much he annoys me he always manages to make me fall for him again."

--

"You should be fine" the nurse said as she helped Hilary to get dressed, Kai had brought her suitcase to the hospital and although Hilary was feeling better her arm was still a little stiff. "you're recovering very quickly and your boyfriend out there seems very attentive."

Hilary sighed "He's not my boyfriend" she was getting a little fed up with this, this was the sixth time a doctor or nurse had made the mistake of referring to Kai as her boyfriend.

"Sorry" the nurse helped her put her arm through her sleeve and then moved away "well you must be happy to be leaving"

"Four days of hospital food is too much for anyone" Hilary grumbled, the nurse only laughed and brought a wheelchair forward "I don't want that" Hilary said quickly "I hurt my arm not my legs"

"OK" the nurse opened the door and carried Hilary's case out, Hilary followed and was pleased to see Kai standing waiting for her.

"Hi Kai" she said smiling

"Ready to go?"

"You bet" Hilary went to take her case from the nurse only to have Kai take it before she could "Kai I can carry my own case" she called after him as he walked away

"Hn" he walked along with her case, Hilary giggled and after saying goodbye to the nurse she ran along to catch up with him.

As they got to the hospital entrance Hilary was amazed to see all her old team mates waiting for her.

"Guys!" she ran forward and was immediately caught up in the arms of Ray and Max, her friends were thrilled to see her and soon Daichi, Kenny and Tyson had joined the hug.

"Come on Kai you know you want to be part of the group hug" Tyson teased

Kai sent him a withering look and continued on his way out of the hospital.

"I can feel the love" Max and the others laughing all ran to catch up with him. Nothing had changed there then!

--

Millie was sitting in the hotel reception area with Mariah, they were waiting for Hilary to arrive and had been sitting there for a while. The Blitzkrieg boys walked down the stairs and started to leave the hotel, as they walked out Tala saw the two girls and walked back in.

"Hilary back yet?"

"No" Mariah smiled at him in a sunny way "Kai and the others will be bringing her back soon."

"Tell Kai we went to the gym to train will you? And tell Hilary we're glad she's ok!"

"Sure" Millie nodded shyly, she was starting to get more comfortable around most of the contestants in the tournament but she still found the Blitzkrieg Boys a little intimidating.

"Ok see you later" Tala went back to the door and turned to wave as he walked through

"WATCH IT!" an angry blonde girl on the other side of the door yelled at Tala as he unintentionally hit her, in an attempt to steady herself she stepped down hard. Unfortunately she missed the ground and went right down on Tale's foot

"You watch it!" Tala told they girl angrily gritting his teeth as her heel damaged his toes

"It was your fault!" she shot back

"It is not my fault that you're a clumsy dumb blonde!" Tala bellowed

The blonde stood to her full height and pointed a finger at him "I swear to god you had better take that back or…."

"Tia?" Millie stood up and stared at the newcomer "Is that you?"

"Millie!" the girl ran over to Millie and wrapped her up into a hug "Hey honey, I heard you were in England but I wasn't sure where! It's so good to see you!"

"If you didn't know I was here, why are you here?" the shorter blonde pulled away from the taller one and stared at her "and when did you go back to being a blonde?"

"I came here looking for someone else, and I went blonde two months ago after I broke up with Jack."

Millie's eyes lit up as she leant forward "You and Jack are over?"

"Yeah,"

Millie threw her arms around the girl "And it's good this time?"

"And its for good this time" Tia nodded smiling happily

"Excuse me" Tala had followed the girl and was staring at her "I think you owe me an apology"

"What for?"

"Standing on my foot with your huge feet stuffed into those stupid heels!"

"Well you should apologise first, after all you knocked me over" she told him reasonably

"It was an accident"

"So was what I did!"

"You did that on purpose" Tala announced even though he knew it wasn't true

"Did not" she yelled indignantly

"Did too" he yelled back infuriated "I think you have something you ought to say"

"Like what?"

"How about you say sorry."

"Say what?"

"SORRY" Tala repeated

"Apology accepted" The girl cut in and waved a hand graciously "see that wasn't so hard was it?"

"Tia!" Millie hissed warningly

Luckily for everyone concerned it was at that moment that Hilary and her entourage entered the room.

"YAY! Hilary's back" Mariah squealed as she ran across the hotel lobby, Millie quickly followed and soon the three girls were hugging and squealing. Suddenly Hilary caught sight of the blonde that Tala had been arguing with

"Tia?"

Immediately the tough bravado that Tia had been showing fell, she bit her lip and gazed down at the floor. "Hey Hilary"

"Oh my god **Tia**!" Hilary ran toward the girl and threw her un-injured arm around her "It's been way to long, what are you doing here?"

"I heard about Ianto, I got in touch with Mac… Hilary am I forgiven?"

"Tia there is nothing to forgive" Hilary grinned and kissed the girl on the cheek, suddenly her face went serious and she looked around "How come you're here though?"

"You don't want me here?"

"Of course I want you here but Jack…?"

"Jack's history"

Hilary's face broke into a grin very similar to Millie's when she had heard this "Oh praise god High in heaven!"

"You're not religious" Tia accused her giggling

"No but I've been praying for that for so long" Hilary told her honestly

"You two know each other?" Millie asked

"Yeah" Hilary paused, she looked at Tia and then back to Millie, sure Millie was pale and petit where Tia was tall and tanned but there was something so similar about them "are you two related?"

"Tia is one of my cousins, how do you two know each other?"

"We were in the same ballet class every summer from the age of four to about…."

"Eleven" Tia finished, "we lost touch during the Jack thing."

"Mariah" Hilary grabbed the white tiger team member and dragged her over "this is an old friend Tia, Tia this is my best friend Mariah!"

It was lucky for future friendships that Hilary introduced Mariah as her best friend, already the pinkette had been feeling left out and slightly jealous, Tia was never one to mind if she wasn't best friends. Sometimes managing your friends could be just as difficult as dealing with a relationship. You had to know which friend needed to be best a friend and which one was happy being a good friend.

"Hi Mariah, nice to meet you at last, Hilary told me all about you!"

"Hilary told me about you too" Mariah felt a little uncomfortable,

"Told you about Jack huh?"

"Yeah"

"It's cool, just never say his name and we'll get along fine." Tia self assurance had come back and she was grinning now.

"Hils I got your key" Mariah held it up "want to go...?"

"Hils you know this bitch?" Tala cut in glaring at Tia, he had continued his hatefilled glare all throughout the girls reunion and it wasn't going away!

"Hilary you know **that** bitch?" Tia asked staring pointedly at Tala, Kai smirked as Tala clenched his fists angrily trying to think up an equally biting retort.

"Ok...!" Hilary looked confusedly from Tala to Tia, deciding not to ask what was going on she grabbed her friends hand, "You got a place to stay Tia?"

"Not yet" the blonde continued her death stare at Tala as he glared right back.

"Great you're staying in my suite, Hiro said that I have a spare room!" Hilary grabbed her case from Kai and the three girls dragged Tia to the elevator and away from the impending tumult.

The Blade Breakers all stifled giggles as Tala stared after Tia angrily

"That girl!" Tala hissed staring after her

"She's hot" Tyson said trying to infuriate Tala further

"Hot? HOT? She's not hot, she's evil, pure evil! I swear I will make her suffer for..." Tala insisted turning on Tyson and actually scaring the reigning world champ

"Cool it Tala" still smirking Kai grabbed the redhead and dragged him out to join the rest of the team.

--

Another OC sorry! But I wanted Tala to have a sparring partner, there aren't any characters in this story who argue and come up with nasty insults and I like writing nasty insults. I never say them because I always feel bad afterwards and end up apologising!

Please R&R


	20. Being Watched

Thanks for the reviews sorry I don't have time to respond to you all individually today I don't have a lot of time.

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"So who was that guy?" Tia asked after she had unpacked and settled into the suite, Mariah and Millie were flipping through the TV channels trying to find something interesting

"Tala" Mariah told her opening the mini bar and grabbing a coke "want one?"

"Got any diet?" Tia asked

"Um" Mariah looked "yep" she chucked a can at the blonde who caught it and waited before she opened it "you one of those people that only drink diet?"

"Nah, but I'm a dancer I need to watch my figure" Tia stretched her legs as she explained "So who is Tala exactly?"

"He's a Blitzkrieg Boy, he's one of the best beybladers around, bit of a player" Mariah grinned "He goes for tall pretty blondes, Hey! You're normally his type!"

"Don't worry though" Millie told her grinning "we plan to beat him and his team"

"You better, honestly he was so stuck up!" Tia exclaimed cracking open the can of drink and taking a sip

"He's not all bad" Hilary called through from her bedroom "He was really good when I got shot"

"So he can help when a person gets shot but he can't open a door without almost killing someone?"

"Tia!" Hilary walked into the room and sighed "please don't make things difficult for me, now how long are you in London for?"

"Dunno, not long" Tia shrugged "Ming Ming's filming her new music video here I'm one of the dancers."

"Oh yeah I remember hearing about that" Mariah said "she needs to film a new video because the original one is 'not suitable' for her audience"

"What does she do in it?" Hilary asked amused

"Dunno, it was very dark she said, but her main fan group consists of kids under the age of thirteen at the moment so she needs a different one."

"It's so cool that you're going to be in it!" Millie exclaimed smiling at her cousin

"Not nearly as cool as the fact that your team is doing so well, people say you're the next big thing" Tia smiled proudly back at her cousin.

"So…." Hilary sat facing Tia "Are you gonna tell us what happened with Jack?"

Tia looked at the expectant faces around her and grimaced "I just realised you were all right. I should never have forgiven him the first time he hit me,"

"And that's it?" Hilary asked

"Yes" Tia shifted uncomfortably under the piercing gaze, "that's it, can we please talk about something else?"

"Sure" Mariah grinned at Millie and the two girls nodded giggling "Hilary, tell us about Kai rescuing you!"

--

"Please Crusher!" Monica was jumping up and down in front of her older brother trying to get his attention. Ming Ming, Mystel and Brooklyn all watched amused as they saw the toughest guy on the team soften and finally give in.

"Ok fine" the large guy smiled indulgently as his sister happily ran to get her jacket, as she ran from the room she passed Garland coming in.

"You finally caved huh?" Garland asked with a grin

"Well I want her to be happy" Crusher returned the smile "I'll just have to make sure she doesn't over exert herself"

"She just wants to do some sight seeing" Garland said amused at how overprotective Crusher was being. "She can't really do too much damage just seeing a few touristy places"

"I know it's just that she had that relapse last year and I really want to keep an eye on her"

"Well if you like we can all come along" Ming Ming offered "if she gets tired or you're worried about her we'll help you out. I don't have anything to do really until I redo my video tomorrow."

"Really?" Crusher looked at his team mates hopefully

"Sure" Brooklyn stretched as he stood up "I could do with getting out of here for some air"

"Me too" Mystel nodded and looked over to the door, the young girl ran back in dressed to go out "Hey Monica?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if we come with you?"

"Yeah" Ming Ming said smiling "I've always wanted to see Madame Tussauds"

"Apparently they've got models of the blade breakers, we could go throw tomatoes" Crusher offered

Monica giggled "That's mean! Madame Tussaude sounds great" she smiled at her brothers team mates "but can we go to the London Dungeons first?"

--

"This is so much fun" Monica yelled as they walked through the streets of London, Ming Ming had just brought them all pizza slices and they were walking along eating and trying to ignore the paparazzi.

"Yeah" Mystel took a bite and smiled to himself, they rarely ever did this kind of thing, usually they were spending their time practicing and training.

Suddenly Mystel caught sight of something familiar, turning he felt his body go cold. Boris was standing across the street, he wasn't watching the BEGA team though. Mystel followed the mans gaze and could see a certain redheaded Russian leaving a building, Boris was staring at the Tala.

"Hey Tala!" Mystel yelled getting the attention of both men immediately, Boris seemed to pull away, and move back but Mystel could tell that the purple haired man didn't know that he had been spotted.

"Hi Mystel," Tala crossed the road and made his way over to them "what are you guys all up to?"

"We're just sightseeing" Crusher informed him, before anyone else could say anything Mystel grabbed Tala's sleeve

"Tala a word" he pulled the surprised taller boy to one side and dropped his voice, "don't look but you're being watched"

"What do you mean?" Tala whispered, the blonde glanced quickly over the boys shoulder Boris was still there only now he was looking straight at him. Mystel was immediately grateful for the mask he always wore Boris couldn't see that he was looking straight back.

"Boris" he hissed "behind us"

Tala was stunned, how could that guy be around here? He needed to confirm that Mystel wasn't mistaken but he knew he couldn't raise Boris' guard by letting him know he had seen him. Tala looked at the building in front of him it had large glass windows, letting his eye run along the building's front he searched the reflection and suddenly caught sight of him.

Purple hair, pale skin but oddly enough normal clothes, wearing a dark suit he looked like just another business man.

"I see him" Tala nodded slowly "have the others seen him?"

"I don't think so, Garland would kicking his ass from here to next week if he did"

"Don't tell them about this" Tala fixed a smile on his face and turned to the others "Well I better be off, don't forget we're not up against you till we get to France so you're all OK till then"

"Don't get too confident" Ming Ming smiled "just because you were lucky enough to beat us last year doesn't mean you can do it again!"

The group said their goodbyes Mystel and Tala exchanging knowing nods before the redhead walked away pulling a cell phone from his pocket

"Kai?" Tala hissed

On the other end of the line Kai coldly told him "You're late"

"We have a code red"

"As in Boris?" Kai whispered, feeling himself go on immediate alert ready for bad news

"Oh yeah" Tala whispered back

"Get back here **fast**, stay on busy streets got it?"

"Yeah I got it"

Tala closed his phone and made his way to the stadium, he was now fully aware of the man behind him but he refused to show it as he stopped briefly to sign a few autographs and flirt with a couple of girls. After all he didn't want Boris to know he was onto him!

--

"Damnnit" Kai closed his phone and kicked the wall

"Hey" Bryan said surprised "he's just late right?"

"He has a code red" Kai said shortly. The other three understood straight away

"Boris?" Spencer asked, Kai simply nodded

"No way" Bryan groaned

"He must be mistaken" Ian tried to reason "why would Boris be here now?"

"I doubt he made a mistake" Spencer sat on a bench as he said this "Tala wouldn't say something like that unless he was certain"

"Damnnit" Kai yelled again this time punching the wall angrily "why can't we just have a normal tournament like last year? Last year was great we came we played, we may have lost but at least there were no bad guys in strange clothes following us around"

--

Boris watched as Tala made his way into the stadium, he pulled out a phone and dialling a number raised it to his ear.

"Were you seen?" the harsh voice at the other end of the line enquired

"No"

"Have you seen any of them showing any symptoms?"

"I couldn't get close enough to see, he'll recognise me. But as far as I can tell everything's normal, I'm going I can't enter the stadium people will recognise me, nor can I go to their hotel."

"Where is he now?"

"At the stadium"

"Ok I'll send someone else to trail him, when they arrive get back here quickly"

"I will" Boris hung up the phone and waited

--

As she sat in the hotel lobby Hilary gazed out at the folder in front of her, the minute she picked it up she would be officially back to work. She was glad that her injury wasn't going to prevent her doing her job but part of her didn't really look forward to dealing with the media again. She hated tabloids and celebrity magazines, she could think of a few reporters who could do with being shot in the arm.

"Hilary Tatibana?" the voice behind her made her jump, it wasn't a voice she recognised.

"Yes?" Hilary looked up and found a delivery man standing behind her, her held a clipboard in one hand and had a large parcel under his arm

"Sign here please" he held out the clipboard and pen

"Sure!" Hilary found nothing unusual in having a package delivered, often Mr D instead of sending an assistant or fax would courier around papers. She signed the form and took the package.

Once the man had left she sat back in her chair and ripped open the envelope, as she extracted the large black book something else was pulled out and fluttered to the floor.

Hilary bent down and picked it up, it was an envelope, she opened it to find a letter and a photo, she gasped as she looked at the picture. It was a photo of her and Ianto, it was of her tenth birthday, Ianto had taken her out for the day and they had ended up at a noodle shop eating together. Hilary giggled suddenly remembering that it was Kenny's parents restaurant where they had eaten.

Then she remembered that the only two people in the world who had this photo was her and Ianto, her photo was back at home on her dresser, that meant that this one was Ianto's.

Confused now she looked at the letter

_My dearest Hilary_

_If you__'__re reading this then something bad has happened, I might even be dead. _

_If that is the case please make sure my children are well looked after, Do not _

_let any of our family take care of them._

_That last part may have sounded strange but there is a reason for it, our _

_grandfather is not a good man his current best friend is a man called Voltaire _

_Hiwatari, this man is evil, conniving and at the time of writing this letter_

_currently serving life imprisonment in Moscow penitentiary. _

_There is more to this story than I can think to write, I will start by telling you _

_that we also have another uncle, Brady, I remember him vaguely but he _

_disappeared a few days before you were born._

_I went looking for him, I found him, our grandfather was holding him prisoner _

_in Moscow forcing him to perform dangerous procedures on young teenagers. _

_He wanted to escape but every time he tried they just dragged him back. He _

_had a wife and child when I last saw him and he__'__s worried about them. _

_The only thing he could do was give me the diary that I hope you will find _

_with this letter._

_I tried to help him but only brought trouble on myself. _

_You see my wife didn__'__t have an accident or kill herself, Grandfather arranged it, _

_he knew what it would do to a junkie like me. He is a cruel and heartless man,_

_you do well to escape from his net, never go back to him no matter how bad _

_things get._

_I am sending you all this because Brady told me something that caused me to _

_believe that you__'__re in danger._

_I don__'__t understand the technical details but you__'__re studying medicine maybe _

_all this will make sense to you._

_I love you little girl_

Ianto Tatibana

Hilary re-read the letter, she couldn't believe it was true, who the hell was Voltaire Hiwatari?

Was he anything to do with Kai?

Her head swimming and her eyes filled with tears as she stood and gathered her things, slowly she made her way to the elevator and somehow managed to get to her room.

--

Tala had finally arrived at the stadium and joined the other Blitzkrieg boys in the changing rooms,

"Are you sure it was Boris" Ian asked

"Of course I'm bloody sure," Tala snarled "do you honestly think I could make a mistake like that?"

"Cool it!" Kai yelled "If Boris is back there is a reason for it, we need to know what that reason is. Has anything happened recently that was out of the ordinary?"

Each of the team immediately thought about the bleeding they had suffered, unfortunately feelings of pride, and a refusal to cause their team mates worry hindered any of them from saying anything.

"So Boris just decided to start following us?" Tala asked disbelievingly

"Well" Kai started to talk but stopped when he suddenly remembered something, Kai could have kicked himself. Why hadn't he thought of that, he had been so busy with Hilary recently it had been completely pushed from his mind.

"Well what?" Bryan asked, everyone was staring at him waiting for him to continue

"Voltaire" Kai admitted finally "he's out."

"What the hell?" Tala stood and stared at his captain "when did this happen?"

"A couple of weeks ago."

"Weeks! Weeks! And you didn't think to tell us?" Tala yelled, the others just sat there looking worried, almost afraid.

"Hn"

"Oh that great Kai, go back to giving a noncommittal 'hn' whenever you feel like it." there was a pause during which Kai merely shrugged. "Fine!"

Tala turned and stormed out. He walked through the stadium corridors feeling angry and annoyed, then he felt it, a familiar feeling in his fingers, this was how it usually felt just before the bleeding started. This time felt different though, he was feeling light-headed and tired, as he looked around for a place he could hide he felt the world spin. Tala began to panic, this was bad, if he passed out or couldn't find a place to hide someone would see him and find out. He turned to get back to the changing room thinking maybe he could just about make it but there was someone behind him blocking him off.

"Tala?" the person asked curiously and Tala realised that he recognised the voice,

"Kendall?" The team Thunderbolt player grinned before raising their arm and swinging at him.

* * *

Tia has a bit of a dark past but who doesn't in Beyblade?

Bit of a short one this time.

Please R&R


	21. Revelations

Hey people I'm back again!!

Over 80 reviews!! Thank you all so much!!

sky d: the blitzkrieg boys are always proud, they don't socialize with the others and I think that asking for help from other people would make them awkward.

thinking-about-it: Glad you absolutely loved it, I update as often as possible but I have to write the stuff!!

Tir na noir: Don't worry about Tala, I like him too much to have him die too soon :p

ari dark princess: glad you like it and hope the update was quick enough!

Sophi: updating as soon as I can sorry if I made you wait

GoddessPhoenix3173: Yay reviews! Tia's past is dark and will come to light at some point. I love how softhearted Crusher actually is, when he gets the doll from his sister before his battle I thought he was really sweet.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

**Previously on Things Are Changing**

* * *

Tala turned and stormed out. He walked through the stadium corridors feeling angry and annoyed, then he felt it, a familiar feeling in his fingers, this was how it usually felt just before the bleeding started. This time felt different though, he was feeling light-headed and tired, as he looked around for a place he could hide he felt the world spin. Tala began to panic, this was bad, if he passed out or couldn't find a place to hide someone would see him and find out. He turned to get back to the changing room thinking maybe he could just about make it but there was someone behind him blocking him off.

"Tala?" the person asked curiously and Tala realised that he recognised the voice,

"Kendall?" The team Thunderbolt player grinned before raising his arm and swinging at him.

* * *

**And Now….**

* * *

Tala raised an arm to block the fist heading for his face, even in his disorientated state Tala was aware of the attack and a need for defence.

"Nice" Kendall commented "but you look tired, how long can you keep going?"

"Longer than you" Tala hissed angrily

"Let's find out" Kendall flung another punch at Tala this time he hit his mark and the redhead was knocked sideways and down to the floor, "Not as tough as you thought huh?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"It doesn't matter" Kendall laughed as he grabbed Tala's arm and twisted it behind his back holding him in place "just give it up"

"NO!" Tala roared kicking out one leg and knocking his opponent off him, Kendall was barely hurt as he jumped up charging for Tala and tackling him to the floor, they struggled together for a few minutes for a little while Tala looked like he might have the edge but his tiredness from earlier was catching up with him and the cloudiness began to take over his vision. He continued to struggle with the raven haired man but he could see he wasn't going to win and he knew that help wasn't on the way.

As the redhead weakened Kendall saw an opening and manged to hit Tala with a forceful, well aimed punch to the chin knocking him out. As Tala sumped to the ground no longer able to stay awake Kendall stood panting heavily as he rubbed his chin he had to admit Tala had put up a good fight.

--

The stadium had emptied long ago and very few teams were still around, the empty corridors were almost silent, the whole thing gave Tia an uneasy feeling as she walked along. The lights were dimmed slightly casting eerie shadows that made her nervous

'Get a grip girl! Where the hell am I anyway?' the blonde muttered as she wandered around looking for Team Reformations locker room, Tia had spent the entire day at the stadium learning the routine for Ming Ming's new video, she and the rest of the dancers had finally finished for the day and she was hoping to spend some time with her cousin.

She had been given directions at the front desk but now she was sure she had taken a wrong turn and was completely lost, she decided to keep going until she found someone else who could tell her where she needed to go.

As she turned a corner she saw a dark haired man leaning over an unconscious body

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed running forward "is everything alright?"

Kendall turned and seeing Tia raised his arm to swing for her, Tia dodged it easily grabbing his arm and turning it so that if he moved he would very likely break a bone.

"Get off Bitch" he was surprised, he hadn't expected her to be so quick

"What the hell is going on here?" Tia looked down at the unconscious person and realised that it was Tala "Look I know he's an annoying prick but there's no need to knock him out!"

Kendall was fed up he kept struggling with the girl but she had somehow found a way to hold him so he couldn't move "Fuck You" he yelled out angrily

"Now that's not very nice" Tia twisted the mans arm again causing him to scream in pain, "**what** is going on here?"

"Fuck you" he said again a little more weakly this time, he was a little tired from the first fight and had very little energy left to deal with a fresh new opponent.

"Now couldn't you come up with a new one?" Tia grimaced, she quickly let him go then before he could move spun a leg round to kick him in the face knocking him out "Now that was just too easy." she looked down at the unconscious body and frowned, she didn't like him but she was unable to just walk away from a person who needed help "Tala? Are you OK?"

He made no move or noise so she rolled him onto his side and checked his pulse, she was about to lift him up when she saw something start to stain his gloves. The red stain started at the fingertips of the gloves and spread. Tia knelt and was about to pull off a glove when she heard footsteps running towards them, she looked down at the unconscious attacker and wondered if maybe had back up. Standing defensively over the body she stiffened herself ready for a fight.

"Tala?" it was Kai, the bluenette she had met briefly yesterday, "Shit! Is he ok? What happened?"

"He's alright...I think, that guy attacked him" she indicated Kendall passed out on the floor "but it's weird he just started to bleed." She bent down again taking one of Tala's hands and raising it to eye level

"Bleed?" Kais' eyes went straight to his friends hands "Damnnit, we gotta get him outta here" with Tia's help Kai lifted Tala from the ground, holding his teammate carefully he carried him to their locker room.

--

Hilary sat in her room looking at the photo of her and Ianto, finally shaking her head to wake herself up Hilary picked up the large envelope again. Inside was a black book it looked like a diary, opening up she began to read.

_**September 24**__**th**__** 1990**_

_I have begun to work with fathers partner, V is an amazing employer. I just can__'__t wait to begin my work. I have been studying the process of __cybertnetics __for so long that to be putting it into practice at last will be amazing._

_I have been able to employ my own team, I have even brought one of my fellow students with me. Samantha was one of my best friends at college and she is just as excited as I am about our work._

_Not only that my brother has called his wife gave birth to baby girl yesterday, they are going to call her Hilary after mother. My first niece! I can__'__t wait to see her!_

Hilary started to think, as she looked out of the window trying to get her head around what she was learning she dropped the book, September 23rd was her birthday so this diary did belong to one of her uncles. Could she really have an Uncle Brady? And why was Brady never mentioned?

She bent down and picked up the diary again, she needed to understand all this. She pulled out the letter from Ianto, V must be Voltaire. Who the hell was Voltaire anyway?

_**September 30**__**th**__** 1990**_

_My work on the __cybertisation is becoming interesting, with this work we may be able to help so many people. The process could be used to help people with disabilities to recover, we may even be able to help people who have lost limbs to re-grow them. This is a fantastic process I haven't been able to leave the lab or facility in days. My brother has sent me a picture of my first niece, I have it framed and on my desk. I hope to see her soon and make her proud of her uncle._

The diary continued like this for many months, this diary was a personal account of a scientist. It was full of ideals and dreams, as well as theories and hypothesises. Every now and then there were pages of notes, diagrams and references. Hilary read through all the scientific data and found that most of it she understood. All that science she had studied was coming in very useful! Occasionally she would reach for one of her text books and cross reference but mostly she understood it all.

The book also contained references to sacred bit beasts and beyblading, this confused her, her family had never been interested in beyblading and she had been raised to think of it as a silly past time. How could someone from her family understand bit beasts but the rest of her family seem oblivious to them?

Not only that but how could one of her family member understand the importance of sacred bit beasts and the power they held?

_**June 15**__**th**__** 1993**_

_V has had B watch over me recently I think something is up, if we can't perfect the cybertisation process I am starting to feel as though I will never leave here. I feel afraid sometimes._

_I have been sent another family picture, it feels hard to see them all together without me, the niece I have never even met looks just like a mix of Martin and Mum. My father seems proud of his first granddaughter, sometimes I wonder if my father knew what he was doing when he sent me here. _

_I know my letters are being censored, I don__'__t know how I know this but something doesn__'__t feel right._

Here the diary seemed to stop. It became merely a work book filled with equations and notes. Hilary flicked through it until the last page where there was a letter,

_**To whomever this reaches**_

_It has been a while since I wrote my future hopes in my diary, at one point I wrote about what I planned, how I wanted to use my work for good! Now I know it will never help anyone. It will only cause damage._

_I am ashamed of the work we do. I hope this reaches someone who will be able to reverse the damage I have done and continue to do. I have worked for Voltaire for years now, we will never perfect the process but he still continues pushing and pushing at it. I wish to leave but I have others to protect now, I married my assistant Samantha and we have a child together. Every time I question the work we do he threatens them, I almost wish that I had never had Sam come work with me. I have put her into a situation that I have no control over._

_We have performed the process on five boys, the first subject was V__'__s Grandson we slowly introduced the chemicals and cybernites into his bloodstream. He reacted badly to it, the pain his body went through must have been intense. When he woke up he barely remembered who or where he was, for a little while I was worried he may die. V was totally unconcerned, the only thing that worried him was the fact that without his grandson his family line would end._

_There are four other boys undergoing the process, the final boy was subjected to it in an alarming fashion. Thanks to our original work we knew how much the final subject could stand and administered the process in one huge dose._

_These boys have no real idea what is going on, he is using this treatment to make them reach their peak and then he will leave them. They will never feel happiness after this has been done never have a normal life they will be untrusting and uncaring._

_There is a system within the cybernetics called the second brain, this was built as a way to keep the boys in check but we are unable to control it over seventeen boys died while we were testing it out._

_I don't know how but one day it could be started off, it could be days it could be months or years before they start to be affected but I know this, what we are doing to them will ultimately bring about their deaths. I know in my heart that this is all wrong but I cannot leave. They will never let me leave. I am a prisoner here. I have a wife and child now by doing anything too risky I endanger them_

_V does not seem to care that the process will bring about his grandsons early death. I used to wonder how my father could know such a cruel and cold man but I now know that I was fooled by my father. Horatio Tatibana my father the man I spent my whole life trying to impress knows exactly what is going on here, he knows that they hold me against my will and yet does nothing._

_There are three symptoms that the boys will undergo, if the second brain is started_

_No 1. When they battle their fingernails will start to bleed._

_No 2. They will begin to feel constantly tired_

_No 3. They will be unable to eat the swallowing reflex will fail, after this their body will begin to shut down completely._

_After they have been through these stages they will have god knows how long before they die. I am looking for a cure but the boys are no longer under my treatment, I know nothing of who or where they are. I can only hope and pray that whoever gets all this is able to find these five boys and find a cure._

_If I do not succeed then I want the world to know what happened, if you are reading this then you will probably be a family member._

_I apologise for being like my father a disgrace to our family name_

**Brady Tatibana**

Hilary dropped the book. Bleeding Fingernails? B could mean Boris, she knew that Boris had been a part of the whole Abbey thing. And Horatio Tatibana. Well there was only one person that could be. The five boys though...could it be the Blitzkrieg boys? And why did none of her family ever mention Brady to her?

She felt sick, could it be that her whole family were caught up in this web of lies?

--

Struggling a little Kai followed Tia through the corridors of the stadium allowing her to check if anyone was coming before he walked after her. He was relieved that Tia didn't seem to see the need to ask him about any of this, finally they got to their destination. Tia threw the door to the Blitzkrieg boys locker room open and allowed Kai who was carrying Tala to enter ahead of her, the others all looked up and were shocked

"Tala?" Ian jumped up and allowed Kai to lay their team mate on the bench

"What happened?" Spencer asked

"Stay with him, I'm going back." Kai looked at Tia "Thanks" then he walked out angrily slamming the door behind him.

"What happened?"

"Someone attacked him, I don't know why" Tia looked at the three boys in the room all staring curiously at her, she paused about to tell them more when Bryan noticed Tala's gloves

"He's bleeding" immediately, instinctively they all stared at the redheads fingertips.

* * *

Ok so finally everyone and everything is coming together!

Quite a short one this time but a lot happened!

Please R&R.


	22. Blitzkrieg boys talk sort of

OH MY GOD!!

Over 90 reviews, wow! I was so amazed when I opened up my email a minute ago to find that so many people had favourited and reviewed my story!! I immediately felt like I owed you all something and started writing. So though this is short it is very quick! I will update again ASAP.

I am about to give you all a shout out so the first paragraph here is dedicated to you guys!! In future I may just list your names below and respond privately especially as this responding takes up so much space.

Forbidden-Hanyou: I'm glad this was AWESOME, I often read back over what I have written and think WTF thats rubbish, glad you don't think so.

HITORI-LOVER: One of the reasons that I wrote Tia in was because all my other girl characters are a little on the weak side, Hilary and Mariah are sort of fighters but not exactly masters of the art! Millie is ridiculously quiet and gentle.

thinking-about-it: I'm glad that you haven't forgotten all that, someone's paying attention! Hilary's involvement comes in later you may also have noticed in chapter 19 they spoke about a plan A, just so you know there is more keep your eyes peeled. Don't worry though all will be revealed eventually!

sophi: hope the update was soon enough for you,

sky d: Like I said before the Blitzkrieg boys don't really ever talk to each other about their problems so I had to make them actually see someone else suffering before they admitted anything.

souleater ned: thanks for the review, I'm glad people find this exciting I keep worrying that all the talky bits are boring! I try to have a good fight every now and then!

ari dark princess: does it really get better and better? I guess this means my writing skill is improving as I go! woohoo!

GoddessPhoenix3173: Yay reviews! I'm glad people like my oc Tia, (she's based on my best friend just I added the dark past). Like I said to sky d the blitzkrieg boys don't really talk to each other about their problems so I had to make them actually see someone suffering.

Tir na noir: I'm glad no one is getting bored of this story, I keep wondering if I'm doing alright but then you all review and make me want to continue!!

whew!

* * *

I don't know if Tala actually wears gloves, I can't remember but I'm not changing anything damnnit!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Tia watched as Spencer, Bryan and Ian stripped Tala of his gloves and tried to staunch the flow of blood.

"We ought to get him to a first aid point"

"NO!" All three team members simultaneously turned and shouted the response. Tia raised her hands defensively

"Ok, Ok!" she watched as they used towels to try to stop the bleeding "but that's not going to work"

"Well what do we do then?" Ian yelled desperately

"Here" Tia moved forward and pulled cotton wool pads from her bag, she tore the towel into strips, proceeded to wrap the redheads fingers "sometimes when I've been doing ballet my toes bleed from the nails, this it the best way to stop it."

They all stood back to allow her to work "Are you sure?" Bryan asked

"Yeah but don't ever dare to tell him I helped out OK?" Tia grimaced as she looked down at Tala's unconscious face. "Just cos I helped him doesn't mean I like him."

Just after Tia had finished Kai returned to the room looking grim "He was gone,"

"The attacker?" Ian asked Kai nodded angrily

"Did you recognise who it was?" Spencer punched a fist into his hand

"Kendall"

"From team thunderbolt?" Bryan asked

"Yeah"

"That was Kendall?" Tia asked urgently standing up her eyes flashing furiously

"Yeah" Kai was surprised to see her so angry

"Then I'm glad I kicked him in the face and I gotta go" Tia began to pack her bag while the others watched confused

"Go?" Ian asked curiously

"Millie's waiting for me and she might be on her own"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Look I can't explain, I gotta go" Tia headed to the door, and then turning back looked at them sternly "remember, I wasn't here, and I didn't help."

With a flick of her golden hair Tia ran through the door and away to find her cousin.

"What was that about?" Kai asked

"She hates Tala, she said not to tell him she was here." Bryan told him finding this an adequate response

"Oh" Kai looked at the redhead on the bench as he began to stir, "Tala?"

"What happened? Oh my head, why does it hurt?" Tala asked confusedly as his team helped him to sit upright

"You got knocked out, you had a fiight then you started to….bleed for some reason"

"Yeah I remember, what do you mean bleed...? Oh!" Tala stared at his fingernails worriedly

"It lasted a long time compared to…." Spencer stopped himself realising what he was about to say

"You too huh?" Ian asked smiling

"And me" Bryan told them "Kai?"

The two toned bluenette looked at his team and finally nodded

"So we're all… bleeding?" Tala couldn't think of a better way to put it.

Everyone sat down each thinking their own thoughts not wanting to talk, each member of the team felt secretly relieved that they were not the only ones suffering but also bad that they were all in trouble.

"Sorry I didn't tell you guys" Tala finally said

"Me too" Spencer agreed looking at the floor

"Ditto" Bryan laughed

"Does anyone have any clue what its about?" Ian asked staring at his own nails

"It just starts for no real reason" Tala told him "but I've noticed that just before it starts my fingers feel kinda odd."

"Tingly" Ian nodded

"Is that even a word?" Spencer asked

"We need help" Kai who had been silent all this time broke into the conversation abruptly

"The first aid point just panicked" Ian told them, Spencer nodded to confirm this fact

"The doctor at the hospital wanted blood samples but didn't really give me any clues." Bryan told them disconsolately

"And we don't want to be taken out of the games and stuck in hospital" Tala told them "That's one of the reasons I didn't tell you guys"

"Is that why you followed that doctor when we were visiting Hilary?"

"Yeah"

"Hilary" Kai suddenly said looking hopeful "she might be able to help, she's studying medicine she may be able to give us reasons for why this is happening."

"Can we trust her to keep quiet" Tala asked still worried about being taken out of the tournament

Kai thought for a moment then nodded slowly "I trust her"

"Well knowing how hard it is to gain you're trust Kai, that's good enough for me."

--

"Hilary?" Tia, Mariah and Millie walked into the suite to find the brunette lying on the sofa crying over a photograph, as she saw them enter she covered her eyes with her hands and tried (very unsuccessfully) to hide that she was crying

"What's happened?" Mariah sat next to her and wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl

"My Grandfather" Hilary began to cry even harder

"Is he OK?" Tia joined the hug,

Hilary looked at them both before wailing "He's absolutely fine!" she began to cry even harder

"Can I get you anything" Millie stood awkwardly by the couch "something to eat, maybe a drink?"

"No, I'm so sorry." Hilary wiped at her eyes and forced a smile "it's just that something just came to light, turns out... he's a complete psychopath." she started to giggle almost insanely making the others wonder if she had been drinking

"Oh" Tia nodded then took her friends hand "Hils he never really seemed like a psycho"

"What else do you call a man who experiments on kids? Who's best friend is currently serving time in jail for what they did? Who organises the death of his daughter in law? Who organises the death of his son? Who wants power and doesn't care who he hurts to get it?"

"Wow" Mariah whispered "did he really do all that?"

"If this is anything to go by, then yes" Hilary held out the two letters she had received and allowed her friends to read through them both

"OH MY GOD" Mariah held up one of the letters "Voltaire Hiwatari?" she stood and backed away from them "you're grandfather is friends with **Voltaire Hiwatari**? He worked with him? Helped to create the Blitzkrieg Boys?"

"Mariah?" Hilary stood and looked at her friend surprised by her reaction

"RAY ALMOST DIED!" Mariah yelled "And your grandfather was to blame!" she pointed at Hilary angrily

"What? When? I don't understand! Who is Voltaire?" Hilary asked confusedly

"Hey calm down" Tia commanded feeling shocked at the way Mariah was acting, Millie stood up and turned to Hilary

"Hilary when you got into beyblading Tyson was already world champ right?" Millie asked, Hilary nodded so Millie turned back to the pinkette to placate her "Mariah all that stuff happened before Hilary was into beyblading, she doesn't know about it. She first met Boris during the whole BEGA thing! She doesn't know OK?"

Hilary glanced from Millie to Mariah "What don't I know about?"

"Voltaire Hiwatari" Mariah explained as she flopped back down into her seat "he's the one that changed the Blitzkrieg Boys into genetically enhanced people, while Ray was battling them he was really hurt. I almost lost him. Anyway Voltaire was thrown into jail and Boris disappeared off the map until BEGA happened."

"And this man is my grandfathers best friend?" Hilary walked over to window and stared out "and if Kai's Voltaire's grandson then he could have something inside of him that could start up at anytime and kill him"

"Hilary," Tia paused biting her lip "I think it's already been started. Tala's was bleeding from the fingernails just now and the way the others acted when they saw it I think they're all suffering from it."

"So they're all dying?" Hilary asked turning to stare at her friend with wide eyes

"Well maybe not all of them" Mariah said "but definately Tala, and probably Ian and Spencer. When I was at first aid point the other day I noticed that they were both in the book. It was put down as an unexplained injury but..." she shrugged "After reading all this there's only one thing it could be."

The four girls exchanged looks of fear and worry, "If only that was our only problem"

"Whats that supposed to mean Tia?"

Taking a deep breath the blonde began to explain what had happened with Tala and Kendall.

--

"Well?" Boris hissed angrily looking at the person in front of him

"I tried we fought I managed to beat him but someone else came along sh... that someone stopped me" Kendall put a hand to his jaw where there was a bruise forming, he didn't want to admit to his boss that a girl had managed to knock him out.

"We need one of the Blitzkrieg boys, that's why you're here this year. Nothing else should distract you."

"We've got other things to do as well, we do actually have to participate in the games and train for them"

"This isn't about those other things"

"Hey you want us here we have to win some games, and if we keep 'just watching' them we have to at least get to the semi finals OK?"

"I was thinking more about that little girl you were following around." Boris frowned over at Kendall who grinned and rubbed the back of his neck

"How'd you know about that?"

"It doesn't matter, stay away from her, she's not one of your objectives in fact stay away from all blondes that are likely to distract you from your mission" Boris looked at his watch and frowned "I have to go, remember the Blitzkrieg Boys are you're priority, nothing else!"

Kendall watched him go and smirked "Not blondes, OK, I can do that!"

--

Kai and his team stood outside Hilary's suite he knocked,

"Yes?" Hilary opened the door, her eyes red from crying, seeing who was there she froze

"Hilary!" concerned Kai moved forward to take her hand, but she then burst into tears and slammed the door in his face.

"Looks like the Hiwatari charm has taken the day off!" Tala commented thoughtfully, he smirked as Kai threw him a dirty look.

--

Inside her room Hilary managed to stop sobbing as she stared at the door, turning she leant against the back of the door and putting her hands over her eyes she began to cry. Again!

"Hils?" Mariah pulled her friend away from the door and placed an arm around her shoulders

"Who was it?" Millie asked but Hilary only cried harder

"I'll go" Tia pushed her sleeves back to her elbows and walked over to the door, before she could open it there was another resounding knock. "What?" Tia asked snappily "Oh!" she opened the door to find the Blitzkrieg boys on the other side

"What's wrong with Hilary?" Kai immediately asked looking into the room

"Um" Tia cast a quick glance over her shoulder "you know, now isn't a good time, can you come back later?"

Mariah and Millie moved the crying girl out of sight, Tia pulled the door towards her closing it slightly making it obvious the boys weren't welcome.

"We need to see her" Tala told the blonde angrily

"Nice gloves" Tia commented looking at his hands that were still bound up with her handiwork.

Tala looked down at the bloody mess and cursed, looking up to see her smiling he retorted "Cos you're so fashionable"

"Compared to you everyone's fashionable"

"Shut up" he hissed back

"You know I would but…. I just don't want to."

"Maybe someday soon gags will come into fashion and I won't have to hear you're annoying voice anymore!"

"Tala, Tia!" Kai cut in rolling his eyes and shooting them a dark look "It's important that we see her"

From within the room Hilary's weeping got louder

"Look you guys better get going or I'll take you all down OK?" Tia tried to close the door but Kai got his foot in the doorway and started to force himself in

"Hilary?" he called out, she was on the sofa out of sight but strong as Tia was he would soon be inside. Tia's eyes flashed angrily as she stared at the five people trying to force their way in.

"Go away Kai!" Hilary yelled out "I can't see you, not now"

"Why not?" he bellowed demandingly

"Cause you're gonna hate me" she wailed burying her head deep in Mariah shoulder sobbing harder than before, Millie and Mariah exchanged worried glances as they sat on either side of her stroking the long brown hair.

Tia looked back at her friend again and then back to Kai

She motioned that he should move then stood out in the corridor with him the door firmly closed behind her "Could you hate her?"

"What? No!" Kai stared at her surprised "I could never hate Hilary."

"What if she was like….. related to….," Tia searched for a name "Boris, what if she was related to Boris?"

"Boris Balkov?" Tala asked,

Tia nodded "yeah thats the one!"

"Is she?" Spencer enquired interested

Tia rolled her eyes "Just answer the damn question!"

"It's not her fault who she's related to" Kai paused and stared at the ground confused

"What if she was related to someone worse than Boris, someone who tried to hurt you? And I mean really hurt you!"

"Worse than Boris? Tried to hurt us?" Kai was confused but he knew the answer, there was only ever going to be one answer to this question "No I still wouldn't hate her."

Tia stared into his eyes and then nodded, "Ok, you can all come in but don't ask about anything until she's told you what's going on." Everyone nodded, exhaling heavily Tia opened the door. "Hils we're coming in."

* * *

So how will Kai take the news he's about to be told? How will the others take it? What will happen?

Wait why am I asking you guys?

Please R&R


	23. Comfort and cake

Hey people,

Well thanks to all who reviewed/ favourited the story

Sky d and Tir na noir, I didn't finish the messages I wrote to you so I'll just add to them here

Sky d: Just like Mariah the Blitzkrieg boys may get angry and want somone to be upset with and that is what Hilary is afraid of.

Tir na noir: I try to update fast but I'm not making any promises

And soul eater ned: I can't respond to you personally so I'll just say Thank you for loving my writing style and I'm glad I don't bore you!!

(Thinking about it) Would you look at that less than two days :p

* * *

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

**Previously on Things Are Changing…..**

* * *

"Worse than Boris? Tried to hurt us?" Kai was confused but he knew the answer, there was only ever going to be one answer to this question "No I still wouldn't hate her."

Tia stared into his eyes and then nodded, "Ok, you can all come in but don't ask about anything until she's told you what's going on." Everyone nodded agreeing, exhaling heavily Tia opened the door. "Hils we're coming in."

* * *

**And Now…..**

* * *

The Blitzkrieg boys followed Tia into Hilary's suite, Kai immediately made his way to Hilary and knelt in front of her.

"Hilary?"

The rest of his team stood around awkwardly looking at anything but the crying girl, none of them felt comfortable right now.

"I'm so sorry" Hilary whispered her hands still covering her eyes

"Why are you sorry? What's happened? Why won't you look at me?"

"You'll hate me, Mariah did"

"I didn't" the pink haired girl protested feeling guilty "I just got upset"

"Tell me whats wrong" Kai commanded

"I can't..., please just leave me alone!" Hilary stood and brushing Kai away ran to her room slamming the door behind her

"I don't get it!" Kai watched her go feeling confused, normally Hilary was so open so unafraid. Why was she hiding from him? He turned to stare at Mariah. "What's going on?"

"Here" the pinkette nervously held out the two letters they had all just read.

Kai read it silently his face becoming more and more formidable as he read it,

"Kai?" Tala moved forward concerned, Kai silently handed over the letter and it was read by the others.

"Holy Shit" Bryan hissed "So that guy we saw die was trying to help us?"

"Yeah" Spencer took the letter and re-read it

"She knows you are all bleeding, she knows you're 'stage one' as Brady puts it" Tia told them Tala looked up curiously so she quickly explained "Mariah saw the first aid point records, they keep track of everything. Two of you went there."

"We're dying" Tala nodded disbelievingly as though he had known this was coming all along "it did cross my mind once or twice that I might be"

"Hilary's grandfather is part of all this?" Kai stared at the door that Hilary had disappeared behind. "How long has she known?"

"She found out a couple of hours ago" Everyone stood around cluelessly not sure of what to do, finally Mariah jumped up and went over to the kitchen area "this calls for comfort cake!"

"Comfort cake? I can take a break from my diet for that!" Tia grinned as she remembered the pudding "Does she still make that?"

"Are you kidding?" Mariah grinned back at her "whenever a girl friend needs comforting they get comfort cake!" The three girls all ransacked the kitchen while the boys sat around talking quietly only Kai stood, his eyes were firmly fixed on the door to Hilary's room.

Tala slipped up beside Kai and whispered "Go after her"

"She said…"

"Kai, I know very little about girls really, but one thing I do know is that when Hilary said leave me alone she didn't mean it….go after her"

Kai nodded headed for her room, silently he opened the door and followed her in.

"Are you sure she wanted him to follow her?" Bryan asked curiously

"Not a clue!" Tala said happily grinning at his team mates "we'll soon find out"

--

No longer crying Hilary sat calmly on her bed, the room was dark but she didn't want to turn on a light. She thought back to every holiday she had been with her family, every summer had been spent with her grandfather a man she had thought loved her.

Kai was dying,

Hilary felt her eyes well up again and her stomach began to feel as though it was going to jump out of her body. She slid one hand over her stomach and the other over her mouth. She tried to hold it in but a sob escaped it's prison and Hilary choked over it. Tears threatened to fall but she held them knowing full well that once she started to cry she probably wouldn't be able to stop.

Finally the tight hold she had on her emotions began to break and she wept, crying for a death that hadn't even happened yet, crying for a sensation that she hadn't even felt yet, crying for a love she hadn't even lost yet. She was already grieving and he hadn't even gone, god knew how bad she would be when he actually died. Lying down she didn't even bother to wipe the tears from her face.

Across the room she heard the door open and a figure slipped in.

--

"Hilary?" The bedroom was dark and silent, Kai moved cautiously across the floor. In the half light he could just make out the figure on the bed, "Hilary look I just wanted to… OW!" Kai hit his knee on the bedside table "Shit!"

On the bed Hilary giggled,

"It's not funny" Kai told her angrily nursing his knee as he landed in a sitting position on the end of the bed.

"Sorry" Hilary sat up and moved towards him "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, dying but fine!" Kai realised that this was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left his mouth, of course by that time it was too late to take them back "Um sorry I…"

Hilary threw herself back down on the bed and began to cry again

"Please don't" Kai whispered edging nearer to her and rubbing her back awkwardly "We'll find a way to sort all this out!"

"It's not just you though is it? Ianto, his wife, my unknown uncle, you're team. Our grandfathers have a lot to answer for" Hilary sat up and looked at him "My grandfather is…."

"As bad as mine," Kai told her, he wanted to hold her, to pull her close and comfort her but he didn't instead he just sat there staring at her in the darkness "Hilary trust me, I know better than most people that sometimes your family are people to be ashamed of. We two probably have the worst grandfathers in the world, but we aren't them, they don't have to influence who we are and what we do."

"I'm not gonna argue with that," they sat in silence for a while until eventually "How long?"

"How long what?" Kai asked

"How long have you been ill?"

"A few weeks" he admitted knowing that she wouldn't be happy with the answer

"Why didn't you tell me?" she sounded upset but she moved closer to him resting her hand on his.

"I couldn't!"

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter" he moved away from her as though to leave the room, she jumped up after him and grabbed his arm.

"For gods sake just tell me, tell me why you wouldn't tell me, I need…"

"BECAUSE IT'S ALL I HAVE!" Kai interrupted Hilary yelling loudly almost frightening her "Being strong, being the best blader, being able to save you no matter what the situation, it's all I have to offer. I'm not good with social things, I can't make conversation, I never show my feelings, the only thing I'm good for is being the strongest and if I don't have that what do I have?"

"Do you honestly think that's the only reason I want you around?" Hilary moved forward and placed her hand on his cheek "Kai you are my friend, I like that you're silent, I like that you don't go on and on all the time. Most importantly I admire you."

"I'm still not strong enough…."

"You are strong" Hilary interrupted him "but not in terms of how much you can bench-press, but in the way you've survived. Being strong is measured in so many ways and one of those ways is in who the person is, how they act."

"Because I've always been so loyal and good" Kai muttered sarcastically

"Well I won't say that, but you have always been there for me. You've always been good and understanding with me. I will help you to get through this. I will find a cure for this"

"You're going to save me this time?" Kai sounded amused at the prospect

"If I can." she moved forward and gently kissed his cheek, for a split second there was an awkward silence, finally Hilary found her voice "Do I smell comfort cake?" she asked breezily

"I think Mariah mentioned it" in the dark Kai was smiling, he could still feel the softness of her lips on his cheek.

"Well I better go make sure they don't eat it all, it's the most unhealthy thing in the world!"

--

Mariah was just taking a pan of chocolate off the cooker when Hilary and Kai walked out of the room. Hilary's eyes were still red and her face sadly tearstained, Kai's face was unreadable but Tala could see a strange light in his eyes. It made him smile inwardly,

"I thought I smelled comfort cake" Hilary walked over to the counter where nine bowls of the gooey mess were being prepared. Mariah and Tia nodded and handed out the dessert.

"You've made cake already?" Spencer asked curiously

"It's the easiest dessert ever" Tia said "You take a few ready made choc chip muffins, a few packs of Rollo's and a large bar of chocolate. Put a muffin and Rollo's in a bowl and pour melted chocolate over the top"

"The easiest and most unhealthy one" Hilary told them laughing "Even Tyson can't finish it, it's too filling. Which reminds me has anyone told BEGA or the Blade breakers that Boris is back on the prowl?"

"BEGA know" Tala said thoughtfully "sort of but you're right we ought to tell the blade breakers as well," he prodded the chocolate in front of him and looked over at Tia suspiciously

"Uh-oh he knows I poisoned it!" Tia joked as she took a large bite

"Quit it Tia" Hilary was looking at Ian who was sitting still not doing anything "Ian, you ok?"

"What?" Ian looked up and found that everyone had begun to stare at him

"I asked if you were ok?" Hilary repeated

"I was just thinking, maybe the reason those guys with guns turned up when we were with Ianto was because now Voltaire is out Hilary's grandfather is up to his old tricks."

"Voltaire's out?" Hilary looked at them surprised

"Yeah thats one of the things we were on our way to tell you" Tala muttered taking a cautious bite of his food

"Well if Voltaires out maybe you're right, maybe thats why Boris is watching you again" Hilary nodded in agreement

"That's if he ever stopped" Millie muttered

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spencer demanded, Millie realising she had spoken aloud that everyone had started staring at her shrunk back in her seat muttering quietly,

"What she say?" Tala asked in annoyed tone making the shy blonde blush and sink further into the cushions

Mariah glared at him and leant towards Millie "what was that?" Millie whispered again and Mariah nodded "She say's that maybe Horatio never stopped, maybe we just never noticed what he and Boris were doing before."

"She's got a point" Tala agreed "I would never have noticed Boris if it wasn't for Mystel pointing him out!"

"One thing" Tia told the Blitzkrieg boys sternly "you five should take it easy, I know you won't stop practicing and competing but go to bed early, get plenty of sleep and rest, eat sensibly. No going clubbing, you all need to rest as much as possible so that you can fight this thing."

"She's absolutley right" Hilary nodded "Before we can treat the disease or whatever we're gonna call this you need to strong."

None of the Blitzkrieg boys argued with them but none of them were too happy about recieving orders from two girls especially Tala who glared at the Tia. The entire group fell silent, they were all wondering what Horatio might have been up to while they weren't aware of him, then the phone rang making them all jump, everyone watched as Hilary picked it up

"Hello?" she became still and everyone stood to attention as she whispered "Grandfather..." he must have noticed that she sounded odd because the next thing she said was "No! I'm fine" she didn't look at all fine, in fact she was paler than ever as she stood up "I'll be there, yeah…., love you too" she hung up.

"Hils?" Mariah took the bowl from her hand and stood in front of her "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Hilary shook her head, sounding dreamy as she told them "Ianto's funeral is in two days time, I just have to go stay with grandfather for a day or two. I've found out he's insane and now I have to go see him." shaking she sat down again, then she stood up and walked over to the window, she then walked back to her chair and sat down. Finally she picked up the chocolate dessert and made her way back to her room

"Hi…." Kai was about to go after her when the other three girls moved forward and shook their heads

"You can't fix it this time Kai" Tia told him gently "this time we wait."

--

Kai was sitting on the couch thinking, he didn't like sitting around waiting for Hilary to decide when she was ready to talk to him. He wasn't used to this, Hilary was usually so vocal expressing her views and feelings. He especially didn't like sitting around just waiting to get worse. He couldn't tolerate it much longer.

"Kai?"

"Tala, whats up?"

"Kai I've been thinking…" Tala paused

"Obviously not very thoroughly," his team-mate remained silent so Kai encouraged him "you've been thinking"

"Yeah, Kai do you remember Renaldo?"

"From the Abbey?"

"You know another one?"

"No"

"Right, well anyway Bryan and Ian were clubbing last night and they saw him"

"What's he doing here?"

"He owns that club we like, apparently he owns a whole string of them"

Kai wasn't too surprised at this, Renaldo had been one of the smarter boys at the abbey he had a sharp mind and was one of the few of the people released from the Abbey with a goal in mind. Renaldo had often said that the leisure industry was the new prominent business to go into. By the looks of things he had been right.

"What are you thinking?"

Tala sighed and sat down opposite Kai "We need to visit him. I asked around from the sounds of things he has some 'connections' that may prove useful, we need to search for Voltaire find out what he's doing. Whatever happens we need to find a way to get him and Boris and Hilary's grandfather off our backs."

"And in order to do that we need to know where they are and what they are up to."Kai nodded understandingly "You think Renaldo may have the resources to find him?"

"Only one way to find out."

"Is this just an excuse for us all to get into a club when Hilary and **Tia** specifically told us to stay home?"

"No," Tala pretended to look offended but Kai just knowingly raised an eyebrow Tala smirked "that might be an added bonus though!"

Kai paused for a moment thinking, Tala waited unsure, finally Kai looked up and said "If Hilary ever find's out..."

--

Kai frowned as they entered the club, he wasn't a fan of these places, too much noise, too much alcohol, too many people crowding round. He didn't like the physical contact, he crossed his arms tighter across his chest and cast an even more disapproving glare towards his friends. All five of them had walked in and caused quite a stir, in a way this was a good thing Renaldo would hear that they were in the club and might get curious as to why.

Kai walked up to the bar and tried to ignore the girls crowding around him,

"Vodka, straight, on the rocks."

"Sure thing"

Kai turned and scanned the club, his eyes were watching the crowd carefully. He could see Tala at a table surrounded by fan girls, the others were already on the dance floor.

"Here's your drink Kai Hiwatari"

"Thanks" Kai turned and found himself facing soneone new "You aren't the barman I had a minute ago"

"On the house Mr Hiwatari"

"Renaldo!"

"Kai!" the two men smiled at each other

"It's been a while" Renaldo smiled and looked over at the rest of the team where they were all enjoying themselves "but for some reason I don't think this is just a friendly reunion"

"It's not, how'd you know?"

"When they told me you were being followed I realised that maybe you had something you wanted to talk about."

"Followed?" Kai jerked his head around and scanned the crowd again

"Don't look so panicky, we didn't let them in."

"Thanks" he placed his attention back on Renaldo and looked him up and down. Renaldo was wearing a sharp black suit, underneath he wore a dark blue shirt unbuttoned at the neck. He had a large and expensive silver watch on his wrist and a silver chain around his neck it suited his olive skin tone and dark hair "You look like you're doing well!"

"I am, Britain suits me just fine, nice country, drinking age is 18, people are sometimes **too** polite but I think I can handle that."

"They can also be incredibly rude" Kai muttered thinking of the paparazzi and girls that still seemed to be everywhere, he surveyed the back of the bar as though finding it incredibly interesting "I dunno it's as good a place as any to settle down I guess"

"You considering settling down anytime soon?" Renaldo laughed at Kai's expression of annoyance "Well if you ever meet someone and change your mind,"

"Shut up"

Renaldo laughed "You haven't changed at all, want to talk about why you're here?"

"Yeah, you got time?"

At that moment three man all tall and dressed in grey suits came up to the "Renaldo?"

"Go round the back" Renaldo snapped, the three men waked behind the bar and through to the rooms behind the club. "Sorry Kai, not tonight, or tomorrow, I have plans then. Are you free the day after tomorrow?"

"Sure"

Kai stared after the ex-abbey student, whoever those men were Renaldo was obviously not wanting people to see his association with them. Kai considered who the 'connections' Tala had mentioned could be. It wasn't hard to assume that Renaldo had gotten linked to some unsavoury people but he needed him, and Renaldo was a good person underneath it all. They would just have to trust him.

* * *

Ok not a lot really happened here but things will get better and move forward in the next chapter, I don't know when it will be up but as my exams are over I am really writing quickly!

You know the drill Please R&R


	24. Silence

I just re-read my last chapter and I realised that in some parts it seems like there was only one letter not two, I can only blame incredibly fast typing for these mistakes. I will be checking over these chapters more throughly next time. Everytime I read my email and see all the reviews I just have to start typing, I get this urge to type! Then I go so quickly I make mistakes!

Oer 100 reviews guys Thank you all so much!!

Ok so here we go again

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

The old Blade breaker team stood in the main gym with Daichi, Mariah, Tia and Millie, they were all waiting for the Blitzkrieg boys to arrive and were getting impatient.

"I swear this had better be important" Ray muttered scuffing his shoe around the floor "I haven't even eaten breakfast yet"

"You sound like Tyson" Max said grinning

"Hey!" Tyson protested "Like I'd ever be dumb enough to miss breakfast. I had mine before I came here!"

"It is important" Mariah took her boyfriends arm and smiled up at him "I promise you that you'll want to hear this"

"Can't you just tell us?" whined Daichi getting frustrated with having to stand around for so long

"No she can't" Tala's voice was commanding as the Blitzkrieg boys entered the gym, there was no one else around and they were all very grateful for that.

The team that had just arrived stood around for a couple of moments indecisively finally Kai told the story, going right back to when the bleeding started up until the letter that Hilary had received.

"Wow" Tyson breathed as Kai finished telling his old team what was going on

"Yeah" Tala agreed "It's quite a mess isn't it"

"I was actually talking about how Kai spoke in more than two word sentences but Ok you're thing too!" Tyson shrugged grinning

"Ha Ha Ha" Ian said slowly glaring at the navy haired blader

"Geez I was just trying to lighten the mood, sorry!"

"There's something else, the reason we really needed you to know all this" Kai told them "The reason Boris has been following us again, I think it's because Voltaire he's…. he's out of jail. We don't know exactly what is going on but we could all be headed for a lot of trouble."

Everyone stood around and processed the information, no one really wanted to hear that. They all knew that Voltaire being out in the world could mean serious trouble for them.

"How's Hilary taking all this?" Ray asked concerned he hadn't seen her in a while and the fact that she wasn't there with them now made him even more nervous, he looked down at Mariah who bit her lip

"Badly" Mariah admitted wrapping an arm around his waist "but she keeps trying to tell us she's fine"

"Trying is the word" Kai muttered angrily

"What do you mean?" Max looked at the bluenette curiously, Kai was looking worried an unusual expression for him

"She hasn't actually spoken to us since her grandfathers phone call yesterday, Ianto's funeral is today and she has to go. We tried to talk to her but she isn't talking back" Mariah explained "she just nods or shakes her head"

Everyone looked worried now, in all the time they had known Hilary she had never not spoken. If anything when something upset or annoyed her she would be the first to talk about it.

"She's terrified about this funeral but she can't not go" Tia told them shrugging "and she looks odd, as though she's not really there, like she's not awake. I can't explain it"

"We offered to go with her but she won't let us, she just shook her head again" Millie bit her lip and sighed "she's worried we'll let something slip I guess"

"We ought to go talk to her" Tyson stood to go but Mariah grabbed his arm

"Don't Tyson, she really doesn't want to see anyone now"

"She'll see me" Tyson determindly pulled away from Mariah and ran off leaving the others staring after him.

"He could make things worse" Tia said worriedly

"He won't" Daichi was confident as he watched his team mate run out the door "he and Hilary are like that, they talk. They always talk."

Everyone stared at the redhead unsure what to make of this comment, Hilary hadn't spoken in over twenty hours it seemed a little unlikely that Tyson would somehow fix it.

--

"Hilary?" Tyson knocked at her door "I just found out, about everything," still there was no answer "Please just open the door," still no answer "Hilary this doesn't change anything, you know that right? You're still my friend, and you still always keep your promises don't you?" Tyson smirked slyly knowing that what he was saying would hit home.

Finally the door opened, Hilary just stood in the doorway, not moving, not speaking, she looked vacant. She was dressing a demure knee length skirt and a fitted blouse, all black. Tyson bit back about a million funeral jokes as he looked at her, this was no time to make a joke like he normally would.

In fact Tyson said nothing he just stepped forward and hugged her, finally after a few minutes Hilary hugged him back.

They just stood for a while hugging neither feeling the need or wish to say anything, finally Hilary pulled away and smiled at him

Looking into his eyes Hilary whispered hoarsely "Hey Ty" she sounded like she had been crying for quite some time.

"Hey Hils" he put a hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear

"You've heard about my grandfather?" she asked almost shyly

"Yeah, hey could be worse"

"How?"

"He could talk like a surfer dude, embarrass you at every event you go to together, chase you around with a kendo stick, while forcing you to do exercises all the time"

"Mines a cold hearted killer who likes to do experiments on people, wanna swap?"

"Um…" Tyson pretended to consider it then laughing shook his head "Nah, I'm good thanks" She smiled a little "Come on Hils that would normally be the place where you laughed!"

Immediately the smile went away and a sad look reappered as she looked at the ground "I'm getting ready to go to a funeral Ty" she turned away from him and opened up the travel bag on her bed, Tyson could just see inside the bag and was able to make out a lot of black clothing.

"You don't have to wear black all the time Hils"

"I feel like wearing black"

Tyson grabbed her by her shoulder and forced her to look at him, as he looked into her eyes he understood wht Tia had meant, she looked different somehow.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to wear black?"

"Because everythings so depressing, Ianto's dead, the Blitzkrieg boys are dying, everythings going wrong"

Tyson knew he couldn't argue with that, things did all seem to be 'going wrong' at the moment and there was nothing any of them could do. "I was gonna offer to come with you to the funeral but the girls say you don't want company"

"I gotta face my family alone at some point, at least this way if I'm acting weird they'll just think it's grief."

Hilary gave another tremulous smile and Tyson felt worried, he understood why even Kai had been so worried. Hilary was forcing this smile, it wasn't how she usually looked and normally even when she was faking a smile he could see some element of Hilary in it. She just looked quiet, patient, and calm, these were not Hilary's usual attributes, she was fiery, impulsive and bossy! Tyson never thought he would miss having Hilary whack him around the head and yell but he did.

"Well OK" Tyson nodded but he pulled her into his arms again "but if you need anything and I do mean anything" he pulled back and looked her in the eye "even if you just want to know which top to wear -by the way that one looks great- you call me"

Still Hilary didn't laugh but she smiled again acknowledging his lame attempt at a joke "I will Tyson, and thank you for being there for me"

"After all the times you've helped me with my emotional baggage I think I owed you this one."

--

A few hours later Hilary walked out of the hotel with Tyson, the rest of her frends stood there to bid her farewell. Hilary nodded silently to them giving her small forced smile. The funeral was to be held just before lunch and she needed to get going if she wanted to make it There were none of the usual drawn out goodbyes as Hilary slipped wordlessly into the awaiting taxi Tyson handing her, her bag.

"She talked to you huh?" Tia asked as they all watched Hilary climb into the black cab

"Yeah" Tyson nodded not noticing the hurt looks on the girls faces "I think she's right about going alone. She'll be OK"

"How come she talked to you?" Tala asked the question they were all thinking on but refusing to ask

"That's what Hil and I do, I remember once during the third world championships she and I just sat for ages talking, we ended up seeing the sunset we were there so long. Afterwards as we walked home we promised each other we would never be silent we would always talk" he shrugged "Hilary has never broken a promise in her life, and I doubt she ever will."

Inside the taxi Hilary turned back to the crowd of friends that had come to see her off. She raised a hand and gave a half-hearted wave, she was going to miss the friends she was leaving behind. As she surveyed the group her eyes were drawn to Kai, he stood away from the others, arms folded, not even actually looking at her.

Every one else went inside as the car oulled away, scarf flowing out behind him and arms still crossed Kai was standing alone watching surreptitiously as the taxi drove away. She didn't look back so she didn't see Kai as he raised his hand just holding it in the air bidding her farewell, he knew he would see her again tomorrow but it worried him. He didn't want her to be alone with her family, he didn't know they could be trusted. Frowning he made a swift decision.

--

The funeral was being held in England, in the holiday home Hilary had visited every year since her third birthday. The large house was an old Edwardian mansion that closely resembled a palace, it had been in the Tatibana family for generations and Hilary loved it. She had always come here to spend her holidays, Christmas was a huge event with a tree so big she had often wondered how they had gotten it into the house. When she and her cousins had been children hide and seek was not a simple game but a serious and important undertaking that could go on for hours, often the seeker would just give up when they heard the bell go for a meal. Of course some hiders would be very determined and not leave their position and would be found curled up fast asleep long after their bedtime.

The brunette smiled holding onto her memories of happier times here, she watched as Ianto's children Peter and Ben stood half afraid clinging to each other surrounded by their family, Ben was two now ands Peter was 6 they looked confused and afraid. The childrens grandparents Ianto's mother and father in law were there as well, Ianto's children had been living with them ever since social services had taken them from their father. As Hilary watched the makeshift but generally happy family she sighed, she wanted to tell them what Ianto had told her, she wanted to tell them that he had loved them but she couldn't, doing theta would reveal her lie to them all. Then she would have to explain why she lied then her….

"Hilary?"

"Shane" Hilary forced herself to smile at her tall cousin "How are you feeling?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing" he sat down next to her and dropped an arm around her shoulders "you look upset little girl"

"It's a funeral"

"I know but you look different somehow, like you're uncomfortable around us"

"It's nothing Shane" Hilary shook her head sadly "I've just never been to a funeral for a family member I really knew before, I just feel so sad for his kids"

"Don't Grandfather has arranged that he will take care of them"

"What?" Hilary stood so quickly that she knocked her chair over causing it to clatter to the floor, everyone turned to stare at them, flushing Hilary picked up her chair and bowing apologetically walked away from the crowd

"What the hell was that?" Shane hissed angrily, he had followed her and was now holding her injured arm in a firm grip

"I thought they were staying with their mothers parents"

"Grandfather can offer them more and has started to file for custody"

Hilary's jaw set in a firm line "Well he won't get it. Let go of my arm that hurts"

"And why won't grandfather get custody??"

Hilary was about to tell her cousin everything but stopped herself, literally biting her tongue she wondered how she could make sure her grandfather didn't get custody without revealing all she knew.

"They don't know grandfather, he scares them" Hilary offered up lamely "and I don't want them to come under his thumb like the rest of us."

"God Hilary you have got to stop talking about grandfather as though he's the bad guy" Shane shook her a little "after all he's done for you, do you honestly think our parents would be as wealthy as they are if it weren't for him?"

"Money isn't everything! Ow Shane!" tears fell from Hilary's eyes as she cried out, his grip on her arm became tighter and his face got angrier "Stop it!"

Shane seemed to suddenly realise where he was holding her and dropped her arm in surprise,

"Hil, I'm so sorry I..." he pleaded with her but shaking her head and turning to go Hilary ran away from him.

As Hilary got into the house she was crying even harder, she passed caterers and guests who all looked away politely simply assuming that it was grief causing her to cry. Her arm throbbing from where it had been held firmly she ran through the house. Part of her just wanted to get away to escape, seeing the empty front hallway and open front door she ran forwards, she was just about to leave when she stopped amazed by what she saw.

"Kai?"

Wearing a black suit instead of his usual attire the tall bluenette stood in the hallway looking grim, he took in her tearstained face and was immediately glad he had come.

"Miss Hilary you know this man?" their rigid butler stood looking suspiciously at the tall youth. Hilary said nothing she just stood for a moment allowing herself to realise that her friend, the man she had really come to care about had actually come here to see her, to help her.

"Hilary?" Kai was about to walk towards her when Hilary ran forward and launched herself into his arms sobbing violently. Kai smiled wryly as he held the young girl close gently brushing her hair with his hand whispering comforting words to her. The butler looked at them but Kai nodded to him indicating that he should go, the man smiled at the young couple and left them alone.

* * *

OK so I have made Hilary's background slightly similar to Kai's she has a butler and gets called miss Hilary! The only real difference is that Hilary was happy and Kai wasn't.

Ok I know this chapter was a bit pointless but this was just moving the story along, the next chapter which I am still writing is a bit more exciting. At least we had some Kaihil fluffiness! Please R&R


	25. Surveillance

Ok thank you all so much for your reviews, I haven't answered them all I have been working a lot recently. I meant to reply tonight but it was the final in the series of Dr Who and I was glued to the screen.

Thanks for all the nice things you have said and I hope to get back to you all properly soon.

Also thankyou HITORI-LOVER for the nice comment on my last story, I got all teary eyed when I read that.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

This chapter starts right after the last one.

* * *

"I take it you're pleased to see me then!"

Realising that she had acted in a way that would normally have mortified Kai Hilary gave a watery sniff, they had been standing together for some time and as she pulled away she could see that her tears had left a wet mark on his jacket. "Sorry" she blushed and tried to wipe at the water mark.

"Leave it" Kai commanded gently "what's happened?"

"Grandfathers filing for custody of Ianto's kids, If he gets it I've let Ianto down, but what can I do? If I tell them all what I know grandfather...Oh I don't know what he'd do but it'd be bad"

"I'm sure Ianto would understand."

"Kai his last words were 'Tell my kids I love them', I can't do that, not without revealing everything. His kids deserve a good life, this whole thing is tearing me apart but I know they deserve to be happy."

"So do you"

Hilary shrugged ingnoring Kai's comment "I just want to tell everyone what I know, but I can't, I don't know who I can trust!"

"You're bleeding" he told her changing the subject

Hilary followed Kai's gaze and saw that the sleeve of her blouse had a dark spreading stain "Shane must have ripped one of my stitches"

"Who's Shane?" Kai's jaw set firmly as he asked this, Hilary noticed his change in demeanour and smiled

"It doesn't matter"

"It does!"

"No it doesn't" Hilary insisted glaring at him, Kai knew that he wasn't going to win the argument.

"It still needs looking at" Kai was just as insistent as he took her arm and started to roll up the stained sleeve

"Not here" Hilary pulled from his grasp and slid her hand into his "come with me"

Kai allowed himself to be led up the large stairs of the house and down some winding corridors, he was about to ask if they needed to stop for supplies when she stopped at a door. Following her in Kai smiled, the room was quite tidy but the dressing table was littered with little signs of femininity earrings and hair accessories. The bed was strewn with various clothes she had obviously tried on and discarded, he liked to be tidy but the clutter seemed right here, not to messy but not obsessively neat.

"Sorry about the mess, turn around for a second" he did so and she unbuttoned her shirt and yanked it off, selecting a sleeveless top from the bed she pulled it on over her head and blushing looked at Kai "you can turn back now"

"Do you have a sink nearby?"

"There's a bathroom through there" Hilary pointed to her en-suite and Kai grabbed her uninjured arm and pulled her through.

Sitting on the side of the bath Hilary tried to keep herself from blushing as Kai washed the blood from her arm and pressed a towel to the cut. She hissed a little biting her lip as he pressed her arm hard trying to stop the bleeding

"Sorry" he looked up at her concerned "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No" she shook her head "let me see" he removed the towel and let her look "I think only one or two stitches broke, it should be ok. I'll get it properly looked at later"

"Are you sure?" as she looked into his eyes he seemed so concerned that she couldn't resist placing a hand on his cheek to reassure him of her state of good health.

"Really Kai I'm fine" they smiled at each other and for a moment it was like so many moments they had shared before. Finally Hilary came to her senses and dropped her hand to her side as though it was burnt, staring at her feet she muttered "I ought to get back" and standing left the room

"Alright" unseen by Hilary Kai smirked, he enjoyed seeing her flustered like this, it made him feel as though what Tala had told him was right. Maybe Hilary did care for him as more than just a friend.

--

Kai and Hilary were about to make their way down the main staircase when Kai suddenly grabbed the brunettes hand and yanked her back.

"Kai?" she hissed angrily then noticed what he was staring at "Boris? What's he doing here?"

"I don't know but I want to find out" stony faced Kai unconsciously tightened his grip on Hilary's hand, "I don't get why he would be here today."

"Kai! Look" Hilary whispered as she pointed to her grandfather who was slipping unobtrusively through the crowds of caterers toward the purple haired man.

"Do you know where they could be going?" they stood watching them closely, as they headed through another door

"Actually I think I do know where they're going, come on I'll show you" running down the stairs Hilary cautiously led him to the door they had seen the sinister men walk through Kai was surprised when she led him into a study filled with nothing but shelves.

"They can't have come in here!"

"Watch!" Hilary smiled and made her way to the furthest bookcase, slipping her hand along the large oaken shelf edge she twisted something and the whole bookshelf sprang away from the wall. "These old houses are crawling with stuff like this," she smiled at his surprised expression "come on!"

Kai still had his hand in Hilary's and followed her through, she led him carefully down a dark corridor, the door closed behind them making him jump and her laugh quietly. She led him until they reached a wooden panel, she opened it carefully and they slipped out into the dim light on the other side.

They were in a large and badly lit Library with no windows and old oak bookcases filled with books, to their left they could hear voices, Kai was about to follow them when Hilary grabbed his arm and shook her head, she led him off in the opposite direction. They came to a small set of winding stairs and Hilary led him up them. As soon as they reached the top Kai could tell why she had made him come up here, they were on a balcony that ran around the room and from it they could see the entire library. The darkness added to their cover allowing shadows to hide them from the men talking angrily below.

"I don't care what you thought! I told you not to come here today!" Horatio was standing over the purple haired man who was relaxing in one of the chairs "According to my butler Kai arrived a few minutes ago, what if you and he had crossed paths?"

"How was I supposed to know that Kai would be here?"

"Does it matter? Hilary knows who you are as well or had you forgotten that?"

"Not at all but if she does see me it can be easily explained away. Just say I used to work with you, you can pretend not to know what a bad little man I am." Boris sounded amused as if it didn't matter what happened

"Shut up! God you're going to fail me just like you did with that stupid BEGA fiasco."

"All you lost was a little money, there's a lot more riding on this one."

"Don't I know it. Well what do we know?"

"I have someone in the hotel, in last nights laundry we found blood-soaked towels, no one has reported an injury. I think we can safely assume that at least one of them is showing symptoms"

"Perfect, but do we know which one?"

"No, but from the looks of it whoever it is isn't telling. All the Blitzkrieg boys were still practicing today and none of them seem to be taking it easy."

"This is an interesting development, who do you think is the most likely one to be showing symptoms?"

"Ian is the weakest so I would be inclined to say him but then we started Kai on the treatment first so he's also a likely candidate"

"You say that but, Tala was subjected to the strongest and most intense dosage, that gives us three likely candidates. I want you to narrow it down to just one."

"Yes sir, I'll have Kendall and his team do what they can"

"Are you sure we can use them? They haven't helped us much so far"

"I'm on it" Boris snapped

"Good, now what else do we know?"

"We have been able to retrieve all the copies Ianto made of Brady's journal but as yet we have been unable to find the original"

"Are you sure we have all the copies?"

"Of course, people will tell you anything you need to know, under torture." Boris threw a pile of papers down on the desk "here is a copy of all the names and contact information of all the people who worked with or knew Brady before he came to work for us"

"Alright, with this list we may find some answers as to who Ianto sent that original book to, they may even be able to help us understand his work." Horatio sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Find that journal Boris, and whoever has it…." Horatio sounded fierce "eliminate them."

Only just managing to stop herself from gasping Hilary bit her lip and moved closer to Kai, he looked down at her surprised but remembering what Ianto had sent her and understanding her fear he put a protective arm around her shoulders.

Below them the two men seemed to have finished their meeting and Boris stood "Yes sir, do you want me to leave through the back?" Horatio threw the papers in a draw in the desk before answering

"It would be best, get going!" Boris left through a door to the right of the tunnel they had used while Horatio locked the drawer and pocketing the key went back down the passageway to return to the funeral.

Finally able to move Kai and Hilary were about to make their way down the stairs when a form dressed in black slipped out of the shadows below them and went to the table. The figure wore a mask covering his face and seemed to be trying to open the drawer underneath table.

"Stay here" Kai whispered and he silently made his way down the stairs and crept up behind the newcomer, Kai was about to hit the man when the unknown newcomer turned and grabbed his wrist twisting his arm so that Kai was unable to use it. Frustrated Kai swung with his arm and made contact with the unknown mans chest. The man let go of Kai's arm and swore

"Damn it Kai!"

Recognising the voice Kai recoiled amazed "Renaldo?"

The man took off his mask and scratching his head smiled cheerily "I thought our plans were for tomorrow night."

"So did I," Kai turned to look up where he had left Hilary nervously watching "it's ok, you can come down."

"You got company up there?"

Kai frowned remembering what Renaldo was like "Yeah, just don't be nice ok?"

"What's wrong with being nice?" Renaldo protested

Sighing the bluenette fired his friend a stern look "Nothing is wrong with being nice, it's you and your particular way of being nice that I have a problem with."

"I still don't understand what… **Hello**!" Hilary had come down the stairs and now stepped into the light, he held out a hand "**So **nice to meet you"

"I knew it" Kai growled in the back of his throat he turned to his old friend and commanded "Quit flirting"

"I was just saying hi" Renaldo protested winking at Hilary

"Like I said quit flirting" Kai told him angrily he sent the man a murderous glare and Renaldo obviously picked up on it.

"Well, well, well, I had no idea you had such an eye for beauty Kai"

"I don't want to talk about her" the two men seemed to have entered into a staring contest Kai looking fierce and Renaldo grinning broadly

"So, do I get an introduction?" Hilary asked unsure of what was actually going on

Sighing Kai introduced them "Hilary this is Renaldo he's a… an acquaintance from the abbey. Renaldo this is Hilary a **friend**"

"**Just **a friend?" Renaldo asked curiously "I don't normally hang around in dark corners with **just **friends"

"We were watching Boris and Horatio" Kai told him through gritted teeth as Hilary blushed at the insinuation Renaldo was making

Immediately Renaldo dropped his cheerful demeanour and became serious "You know about Horatio now then?"

"We think we know everything!" Kai told him

"How'd you find out about him?"

"Horatio is my grandfather" Hilary gave up the information reluctantly expecting Renaldo to react badly

"Oh, I'm sorry" he grimaced "when it came to handing out the grandfathers you two definitely got the worst ones"

"Yeah" Hilary agreed staring at her hands "I couldn't agree with you more."

"Renaldo what are you doing here?" Kai cut in curiously

"More to the point how did you get in unseen by us?"

"An old friend told me the secret passages in this place, when I saw them go through the door in the study I decided to use the entrance under the dining room window. As for what I am doing here I was following Boris, you must have heard that he's got a list, well it's something that if Voltaire gets his hands on, it could mean a lot of trouble for some ex-abbey students"

"You mean Tala, Bryan, Ian, Spencer and I?"

"Yeah" Renaldo nodded "looks like you guys do know everything now."

"Not quite" Kai shrugged "the one thing we don't know is how to stop it"

"You mean the cybernetics in your bodies have been activated?" The dark haired man stared at the Blitzkrieg boy in disbelief

"Yes."

"Who's ill?" Immediately Renaldo sounded different, more professional, more businesslike

"We are all displaying the symptoms"

"Shit! Kai what are you doing still walking around? You need to get to a hospital and you really ought to rest"

"That's what I said" Hilary nodded in agreement

"I'm **fine**! Can we please get back to the subject of why you're here?" Kai asked rather loudly getting annoyed at their lack of seriousness "Renaldo what were you about to do?"

"Ah!" grinning Renaldo leant down and began to pick the lock on the drawer again finally it opened "You heard what this list was?"

"Yeah"

"Well I think this list might eventually lead them to whoever has the original journal, you heard what he said he would do to whoever had it"

"He said that he'd kill them" Kai looked over at Hilary not knowing if she was willing to tell the newcommer what she had recieved

"We need that original, the person who has it might not care who lives and dies and might just run, we need to know it's safe"

"It is" Hilary told him "I hid it well"

"**You** have the original?" Renaldo stared at her amazed "He didn't even know you, why would Brady send you the original?"

"He didn't, it was Ianto."

Renaldo smiled and smacked a hand to his forehead "Ianto! He always said you would be able to understand it" Renaldo nodded at her "I don't know why I never thought to see if you had it."

"Why do you want the original?" Kai enquired looking interested

"To help you, you dummy" Renaldo punched Kai's arm smiling "after all I do owe you, I would have died more than once at the abbey if it weren't for you! I have an army of scientists and doctors all trying to analyse the data but to do that they need original stuff, apparently the copies are missing several pages. Then I would get in touch with you boys" Renaldo grinned "Or at least that was the plan, I needed to arrange a meeting with you guys, I was never more pleased to see you Kai than when you showed up at my club last night"

Kai tried desperately to stop Renaldo from talking waving his hands around violently and making throat slitting gestures but it was too late.

"You went clubbing last night?" Hilary turned to face him and her hands immediately on her hips her face filled with annoyance

"Yeah, but…"

"After Tia and I specifically said not to?" Hilary was seething, in the old days right about now she would have hit him but recently she had stopped whacking everyone around the head. Everyone except Tyson and Daichi of course.

"We needed to go see Renaldo, we thought he would be able to help, and he can" he sounded triumphant for a second but seeing the look on Hilary's face Kai became suitably chastened,

Hilary was too angry to care how he looked she just got even more annoyed "Kai I swear to God, you do something like that again and by the time I'm through with you, you will be begging Voltaire to put you back in the abbey just to keep away from me."

Kai nodded and whispered "Sorry Hils"

"I just LOVE her!" Renaldo exclaimed watching the exchange between the two of them "do you talk to the rest of the team like that?"

"Yes" Hilary shrugged turning away from Kai and facing the nightclub owner

"Oh can I keep you? I have never before in my life seen Kai apologise or look so down!"

"Shut up" Kai hissed reverting back to his usual cold unfeeling persona "Now where do we meet?"

"I'll get in touch tomorrow."

"You know where we are?"

"Yeah," Renaldo nodded and turned to go, then turning back he stared at his old friend "but Kai I'm not going to lie to you... there's..., there's no guarantee we'll beat this thing"

"It looks like we need some luck" Kai leant against one of the shelves despondently

"Kai" Hilary took his arm and squeezed it gently "we'll find a way to get through this"

Kai smiled at her gently liking the way her arm rested on his, for some reason he didn't want her to move away from him. He was comforted by her words and touches. Renaldo was barely able to keep his laughter in as he watched the young couple, for the first time in all the time Renaldo had known him Kai was looking almost human.

"Well 007" Renaldo said with a fruity British accent, Kai and Hilary broke apart suddenly remembering that he was in the room. "I'd love to stay and chat but I'm afraid I have to get back to headquarters, stiff upper lip, for queen and country and all that!"

"Renaldo" Kai groaned remembering that one of the reasons he hadn't stayed in touch with Renaldo was his annoying sense of humour, even in the abbey Renaldo had been unrelentingly cheerful a real acheivement considering the living conditions

"Money-Penny" Renaldo addressed Hilary "keep an eye on him, make sure he behaves himself!"

"Goodbye Renaldo, I'll see you soon" she smiled again and extended her hand to shake his but blushed as he took it and raised it to his mouth kissing it gently. Renaldo let go of her and moved towards the door Boris had used, before he left the room he turned around saying in his normal voice

"She's quite a catch Kai, don't screw it up" and with that he was gone.

After Renaldo had left them Kai and Hilary stood for a few moments staring at the floor

"People still keep doing that" Hilary remarked

"Doing what?"

"Thinking we're together"

"Hn!" There was a further silence until Kai finally said "we ought to go back, they'll have noticed that you're gone"

"Yeah"

Hilary and Kai made their way back to the panelling through which they had entered the library, for a few seconds Hilary had trouble opening up the doorway her hands were trembling

"Are you OK?" Kai took her hands in his and steadied them, "we could wait a little longer if you want"

"No" Hilary took a deep breath and pulled her hands from his hold, she returned to the panelling and this time managed to slide it open.

While the two of them were walking through the darkened passageway the door at the other end began to open, both of them froze fear in their eyes, they were too close to the door to be able to run back in time and there was nowhere to hide.

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Ha I bet you all thought the two of them were going have a kiss in this chapter!!

Bit of a cliff-hanger there, I'll be back soon I hope!

Please R&R


	26. Thinking Fast

Hey people, sorry if I haven't replied to your reviews but I'm crazy busy at work and just writing the chapters is getting tough.

I hope I won't slow down too much but the chapters may take a little longer to put up, I haven't even started to write the next one.

This one isn't very long but I will try to make the next one better!

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I do not own Beyblade

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_**Previously in Things are Changing….**__While the two of them were walking through the darkened passageway the door at the other end began to open, both of them froze their eyes filled with fear, they were too close to the door to be able to run back in time and there was no where to hide._

* * *

_**And now…..**_

Kai stood trying to think up a reason as to why they were in here. He knew that if they didn't have a good excuse the minute they were discovered Horatio might find out and then he would know that they were onto him. Unfortunately he didn't seem able to think of a single thi…

"What the…?"

Kai's train of thought was cut off as Hilary grabbed him and pushed him against the wall she grabbed his shirt and pulling him to her level locked her lips onto his. He pulled away gasping "Hils?"

"Shut up!" she silenced him with a more forceful kiss and Kai couldn't help but slip his arms around her waist and pull her closer.

"HILARY!" A large man with chocolate hair and pale grey eyes had just entered the passageway he looked furious.

Hilary broke away from Kai and turned gasping "Uncle Henry! Um...this is Kai."

The man shot Kai an angry look before turning back to Hilary "I wondered why I hadn't seen you for a while"

"Um….Kai just came to support me" Hilary pretended to be embarrassed as she stared at the ground. Kai still had his arms around her waist, Hilary moved her hands from his neck and pushed him away slightly pretending to be even more embarrassed. Kai knew what she was doing and was more than willing to play along as he kept one arm around her slim waist.

"Hilary that isn't an explanation for why you're kissing him" The man came bearing down on them looking angrier with each step.

"I know…." Hilary bit her lip

"Is there something wrong with a boyfriend and girlfriend getting some quiet time together?" Kai asked insolently

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Henry asked looking at them confusedly, "I didn't know you had a boyfriend Hilary, least of all that it was him"

"Please don't tell anyone" Hilary pleaded

"Why not?"

'Yeah' Kai's brain yelled 'why not?' Think, Think, Think

Luckily Hilary had always been good at thinking on her feet "We don't want to tell anyone, till we know if this is serious, if Kai's fan girls found out they'd kill me." Hilary allowed a small tear to slide down her face as she said this. Kai watched her surprised as she began to cry harder. "I really hate all that tabloid stuff and if people were to know about us it would be awful."

"Hil's don't cry please" her uncle came forward and pulled her away from Kai and into a hug. "don't worry, I won't tell, now you two come out soon ok?" he shot Kai a searching look but he seemed to be accepting their excuse

"Give us a minute" Kai asked Henry nodded and walked away and out of the passageway keeping the door open behind him

"I always could cry impressively on demand" Hilary immediately stopped crying wiped her eyes and started to tidy her hair, she then pulled her compact from her pocket and ensured that her mascara hadn't run "Well that went well, don't you think?"

"It certainly did" said Kai a strange look in his eyes

For Kai that kiss had been it, the breaking point. The last few days or so he had been stealing glances at Hilary, at times when he had glanced in her direction he had been unable to look away and the glance had become a stare that distracted him from almost everything around him.

That kiss had done it though, her soft and gentle lips on his, the way her arms had rested so comfortably, so perfectly around him.

"Kai?" Hilary backed away from him feeling nervous, he had an odd smile on his face and as his left arm went back around her waist pulling her to his chest she gasped. He brought his right hand to her chin and slowly lowered his lips onto hers.

Hilary was stunned, before kissing him had been no big deal, it had been a ploy to keep her family from knowing what she was doing. This was different this seemed real, she felt his tongue slip gently into her mouth and massage hers. Her knees buckled and she couldn't help but moan as he held her tighter.

Kai ran his hands up and down her back pulling her even closer to him, he felt her moan and smirked inwardly. Her hands slipped up his arms and went back to rest on his neck. After a little while their lips left each others, Kai was breathing heavily and Hilary was panting as she stepped back.

"Kai why…?" she looked dazed as she tried to move away from him

Not letting go of her he smiled "You started it" a rare mischievous streak had awoken in Kai and he was enjoying her confusion, she gave him an angry glare. "What?" he asked innocently.

"I did it too...," she realised that they were in the open passageway and it was unsafe to talk, she dropped her voice to whisper "you know why I did it."

"I do" he smirked

"So why did you...?"

"Cause I wanted to" and with that he pushed her up against the wall and gave her a playful look "you didn't like it?"

"I didn't say that" she smiled flirtily

"Good" he moved in again only to have her break away and start to walk down the corridor

"But it won't **ever **happen again!"

Kai watched her walk away unable to stop himself from growling angrily. So she thought it wouldn't happen another time?

Think again Hilary, think again!

--

Hilary had introduced Kai to any of the family members he hadn't met yet, Mac had recognised him instantly and appeared to be pleased to see him. Kai felt extremely uncomfortable as he met her family but refused to show it, not wanting to make things uncomfortable for Hilary. When he met Shane Kai's discomfort was obvious to Hilary so she quickly moved past her 'favourite' cousin and onto easier relatives. Introducing Kai to her grandfather had been easier than him meeting Shane, as far as Kai knew Horatio had never done anything to hurt Hilary so he felt no immediate anger towards the man, he could see that Horatio did indeed care for his granddaughter and Kai wondered just what would happen if Horatio knew what Hilary was doing, would he actually hurt her?

Kai just nodded and looked grim as he met people but as they were at a funeral no one found his behaviour odd.

After the wake had finished the guests started to leave and the caterers packed up Hilary was in two minds about how she felt. Part of her wanted to keep Kai with her, she felt safe with him there, protected from any harm that may come her way. The other part of her the severely embarrassed part of her was glad that Kai had to leave, as she had walked him to the door she had noticed a strange look in his eyes, it was the same look she had received just before they kissed for the second time.

Kai on the other hand wanted one thing and one thing only, he wanted to take her back with him. He wanted to force her into the taxi with him and take her safely away. There was something else he wanted, something he had never thought he would ever want, he wanted to talk.

Yes Kai Hiwatari professional conversation killer wanted to talk. He walked out of the house and down the front steps, Hilary beside him until they reached the car waiting for him.

"Hilary?"

"Yes Kai?" she was staring at the ground again refusing to look at him properly

"Will you be ok?"

"I don't know, I want to stay but at the same time I want to leave." she shook her head and finally stared up at him eyes filled with tears "you better go"

"Come back with me" he urged taking her hand "just tell them you need to come back with me for some reason, we'll think of something."

His sudden request had surprised her but she was insistent "No" she rubbed her eyes and faked a smile, then she glanced behind her to where two of her cousins stood at the door watching "you better go" she repeated only this time instead of trying to argue Kai nodded.

"I'll see you soon" the bluenette promised jumping into the awaiting car

--

Shane Tatibana stood leaning languidly against the door, he was standing outside the old Edwardian house waiting. He was watching intently as Hilary bid goodbye to her guest. This had been his first chance to meet Kai, he had been very curious. After all this Kai had saved Hilary's life on four separate occasions, he owed him and Shane didn't like owing debts to people he didn't know.

Shane wrinkled up his nose in disgust as he watched Kai grab Hilary's hand, he had taken an immediate disliking to Kai, his hair made him look ever so slightly hooliganish. Now don't get him wrong, Shane wasn't a snob, far from it but he had a long standing belief that no guy would ever be good enough for his cousin.

"He's not so bad" Mac had walked up behind him and stood watching with him as Hilary spoke quietly to Kai "he does care about her."

"How do you know?" Shane sneered

"I've seen him look at her" Mac noticed Shane's face fill with anger "not like that..., god just cos you have a one track mind where girls are concerned doesn't mean everyone else has."

"Everyone else has what?" Hilary asked as she walked up to them, Shane turned from Mac to see Kai's taxi driving away

"Nothing little girl" Mac stretched out a hand and ruffled her hair

"Don't!" Hilary batted her cousin away angrily

"Hils can we talk?" Shane looked full of remorse but Hilary was to angry with him to care.

"No now, I'm tired" and so saying she walked into the house and up to her room,

With and incredibly suspicious expression Mac turned to Shane "Ok! What did you do?"

--

It was late night as Hilary lay on her bed reading the book Kai had given her, finishing the story she flicked back to the front page with it's sweet message

_To Hilary_

_You once said that this was your favourite._

_Come back soon, we really need you around_

_Kai_

She looked around the room and found her eyes attracted to the top of her chest of drawers and the jewellery box on top, her grandmother had owned the box and it had been given to her on her sixth birthday. It wasn't until she was twelve that she had found the secret compartment hidden underneath. She stood and walked over to her drawers and for a reason she could never quite explain she opened the secret compartment and slid the book inside.

Suddenly behind her she heard a noise.

Something was at her window

Moving slowly and silently she moved to pick up her cell phone, flipping the phone open she immediately went to the phonebook searching it until she found Kai's name. Thumb poised to dial she crept towards her widow, grabbing the lamp from the table by the window she held it ready. Then she realised she now had no free hand with which to draw back the curtain, she stood indecisive before placing her phone down after all what help would Kai be right now?

Still holding the still lighted lamp she raised her hand and mustering up all her courage finally threw back the curtain.

What she saw shocked her so much she screamed.

--

Tala lay in bed feeling exhausted rolling over he checked the clock, 3 am, he had been trying for hours to get off to sleep but for some reason found himself unable to drift off. He didn't understand it he had been exhausted all day but now he couldn't seem to sleep. Groaning he pushed himself up and got dressed, as soon as he was fully dressed he went to check on the others. They were all still asleep, he was probably the only one in the whole hotel still awake at this time. Tala left them all still sleeping and walked out of the suite, if he couldn't sleep he might as well train.

As Tala entered the hotels gym he discovered he wasn't the only one still awake, Millie stood on one of the treadmills running at quite a pace. He walked up behind her,

"Millie?"

"ARGH!" Millie screamed, losing her footing went flying back and landed on the floor with a crash.

"Oh, shit!" Tala dropped down next to her "Are you ok? I didn't mean to scare you."

"Hey Tala" blushing Millie put a hand to her head and groaned "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in bed?"

"I could ask you the same thing" Tala countered standing and helping the blonde to her feet

"I'm a bit of an insomniac!" Millie grinned rubbing her elbow "Some nights I'm not tired, I just can't sleep, I've always suffered from it, when I can't sleep I train."

"So that's why you're so good" Tala smiled as he saw her begin to blush an even fiercer red

"Yeah! Now what's you're excuse?" Millie put her hands to her cheeks very conscious of how hot she felt "Why are you here"

"Can't sleep" he shrugged "is insomnia contagious?"

"No" she shook her head disbelievingly "do you not know what insomnia is?"

"It was a joke" he told her "I don't know why I can't sleep, I've been exhausted all day."

"All day?" Millie looked at him surprised "you can't sleep but you've been exhausted all day?"

"That's what I said!"

"How long have you been like this?"

"A couple of days" he shrugged again but was surprised when the normally shy girl grabbed his hand and quite literally dragged him out of the gym "Hey! Millie what's going on?"

"Something the letter said" Millie explained leading him to the elevator and violently pressing the button "it said you would be tired all the time, and when Hilary told us about it she said that the journal spoke about that bit but that you'd also need help sleeping, and you are tired but can't sleep" she pushed him inside the lift and pressed another button.

"Millie I still don't get what you're on about" as Tala yelled this the lift door closed and they started to move up

"I think you're stage 2 Tala" Millie watched as the redheads face fell, it was obvious that this thought hadn't crossed his mind "I've got to call Hilary NOW!"

* * *

Can I just take a quick moment to say FINALLY!!

I have finally got some sort of KaiHil going on.

Hope you are all happy with the kiss. (LilBitzer I'm talking to you!)

R&R


	27. Sleeping well?

Sorry it took so long but it took me ages to think of anything, I have major writers block! Hope this is enough for you. I'll be back ASAP.

Thanks to all my reviewers, sky d, LilBitzer, sophi, thinking-about-it, GoddessPhoenix3173, StarShinobi, saturnz-moonit-beauty, ari dark princess, and, souleater ned. All of you seemed to like the KaiHil moments and some of you have commented on the humour.

Also thanks marishka91 for the sweet pm you sent!

I'm glad you like the story, I like having humour in a story because one of my nicknames at work is little miss giggles so you can guess what kind of a person I am!

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I do not own Beyblade

* * *

**Previously...**

Moving slowly and silently she moved to pick up her cell phone, flipping the phone open she immediately went to the phonebook searching it until she found Kai's name. Thumb poised to dial she crept towards her widow, grabbing the lamp from the table by the window she held it ready. Then she realised she now had no free hand with which to draw back the curtain, she stood indecisive before placing her phone down after all what help would Kai be right now?

Still holding the still lighted lamp she raised her hand and mustering up all her courage finally threw back the curtain.

What she saw shocked her so much she screamed.

**And now...**

* * *

"I am so sorry Kai" Hilary winced as she looked at the cut on the side of his face "this is going to hurt" standing close to him Hilary could see that the wound wasn't bad in fact she doubted it would even scar but still it needed cleaning so she poured some disinfectant onto a cloth and pressed it to his face.

The stoic Kai hissed as Hilary dabbed carefully at the wound but still smiled in an amused way "It's my fault really, I should have phoned to tell you I was coming back" sitting on her bed he shifted uncomfortably the pain from his cut making him restless, this wasn't how he had planned things!

"But I needn't have screamed, if I hadn't you wouldn't have fallen and my whole family wouldn't have come rushing to my rescue. I had to make up a really lame excuse about a mouse which I don't think Mac believed, and if I hadn't picked up the lamp they also wouldn't have stuck around to clear up the broken glass meaning that I had to leave you hanging there for so long"

"It must have been pretty odd to have me just appear at the window like that" he acknowledged trying not to notice how she was pressing against his arm as she stood cleaning his cut. She was wearing that small pink nightdress again, it left very little to the imagination.

"You think?" Hilary couldn't help but giggle as she had a mental image of Kai hanging from the vines outside her window desperately trying not to fall further "Next time you do something like that I won't scream, that was what caused the trouble in the first place."

"True" Kai agreed smiling up at her "but it was worth it to hear you laugh again"

"What?" Hilary stopped what she was doing and stared directly into his eyes "What do you mean by that?"

"You laughed just now, that was the first time I heard you laugh since you're grandfather phoned to tell you about the funeral."

"You noticed that?" Hilary was amazed, she had never realised that Kai would notice something like that about anyone least of all her! Immediately she knew that the icy wall she had over the last few hours been trying to build up against him was melting. She had even shoved the book away, hidden it trying to convince herself he didn't mean what he had written.

However after what he had said she could no longer could she tell herself to forget about Kai because he was cold, or that he was unobservant and uncaring, his tender words had just proved he wasn't cold, he did notice how other people felt and he did care about her.

God she felt muddled up, why couldn't Kai just be normal?

"Of course I noticed." correctly interpreting her silence as confusion Kai turned to face her properly, carefully he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her to him "You're a happy person Hils, of course I noticed how unhappy you were. Of course I noticed that your smiles weren't real, and I really missed hearing you laugh"

"Kai" Hilary whispered as she leant down, they were both automatically moving in, getting closer, in fact their lips were about to meet when it happened.

Briing, Briing, Briing.

Hilary's phone sounded like a warning beacon interrupting their almost intimate moment, they both froze. For a little while neither of them moved, neither of them wanted to, moving away would mean that they had to think, it would give them time to analyse their situation and one of them (probably Hilary) could talk herself out of the whole thing, even try to pretend it never happened.

One thing they both knew was that a phone call at this time was likely to be very important.

Briing Briing Briing

Still neither of them moved, Hilary was unconsciously holding her breath while Kai was staring into her eyes unable to tear him self away.

Briing Briing Briing

Screwing up her eyes and trying to think coherently Hilary pulled herself away and flipped open her cellphone

"Hello?"

"Hilary?" Millie sounded worried and immediately Hilary snapped to attention

"Millie? What's going on?"

"You got to get back here, theres... something's wrong with Tala"

Hilary turned back to look at Kai as she asked "What's wrong with Tala?" dropping his arms to his sides Kai jumped up and stood closer trying to catch the conversation

"He can't sleep but he says he's been exhausted all day"

"Oh shit" Hilary felt like crying as she realised what this meant.

'What?' Kai mouthed questioning her silently

"So you think Tala might be stage two?" Hilary asked answering Kai's question and making him realise the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah, but just him. We checked on the others they are all sleeping soundly but actually we can't find Kai anywhere, apparently he just disappeared not telli…."

"He's here" Hilary told her wishing she could ignore the slight giggle this explanation received

"Really?" Millie practically sang the words Hilary could almost hear her grin.

"Shut up blondie or I'm having a talk with Max OK? Now how long has he been like this?"

Millie giggled "Ok Ok! He says he's been like it for a couple of days but I'm wondering if this is the first time he's really had trouble sleeping"

"What are you two doing hanging out at this time anyway?" Hilary teased

"I was in the gym and he came in, and if you want me to drop the Kai subject I suggest you drop this!" Hilary couldn't see it but Millie had a blush spreading across her face "you know I wouldn't" she dropped her voice "I don't like him like that"

"He's right next you huh?"

"Yes so stop it!" Millie hissed venomously

"Alright! Millie he really needs to sleep, if he doesn't sleep the symptoms will just speed up and he could be stage three in no time, can you give him some sleeping tablets from your stash?"

"Sure but Hils you need to get back here"

"We're on our way!" Hilary hung up and turned to Kai who was already pulling on his jacket and looking out the window "Do you have a car nearby?"

"Yeah, I rented one, its down the road from here."

"Great lets get going." Hilary pulled on a pair of jeans and threw on her jacket, she grabbed the travel bag from the corner and slung it across her shoulder,

"We probably ought to leave through the window" Kai told her "they might see me and get suspicious"

"Sure but let me just get something" Hilary walked over to her closet and pulled out a sturdy looking chain ladder, when Kai looked at her curiously she grinned "you think this is the first time I or someone else has snuck in or out of my room?"

"You've had boys sneak around here before?" Kai enquired trying to sound careless

Hilary grinned as she hooked up the ladder and sitting in the windowsill swung her legs out, "I didn't say boys" as the brunette got her footing and turned to climb she heard Kai sigh with what sounded like relief and saw the smile on his face, she wondered if it was relief, did Kai really not like the idea of her sneaking around with other guys? "I used to sneak out a lot, but actually, you aren't the first guy to use this"

And with that teasing comment she climbed down.

--

"Here Tala" Millie handed the redhead two pills and a glass of water

"Thanks" he swallowed the pills down gulping at the water and lay back on the sofa "Will they take long to work?"

"No" she smiled at him "they can knock you out in under ten minutes, they're pretty strong"

"Why don't you take them?" Tala asked "You obviously couldn't sleep tonight"

"I don't like to take tablets" Millie shrugged, "Besides doctors these days don't really like to prescribe them so I make them last and only take them when I really need them."

"Well I'm glad you've got them, I feel so washed out"

"You get some sleep, I'll just warn my cousins that you're here, they may react badly to finding you on the couch."

"Well as long as Tia's not here I seriously doubt my lifes in danger. Thanks" Tala took the blanket she was holding out and lay back yawning "I really need to get some sleep"

After she had filled them in on the situation Millie came out of her cousins room to find Tala already asleep, she grinned. Tala lay cuddling one of the sofa cushions his thumb in his mouth. She picked up a blanket and covered him with it, as she did this he sighed and snuggled further down.

"God you're lucky Tia isn't staying in this suite, she'd have had a field day!" Millie giggled, finding herself a little tired she decided to go snatch a couple hours of sleep.

--

Hilary and Kai arrived back at the hotel at about five in the morning, neither had spoken all night and both looked exhausted from the travelling. Once inside the hotel without saying a word they split each going there own ways, Kai made his way to his suite to change and inform his team what was going on. Hilary made her way to her suite to grab the book.

Once inside her room Hilary picked up the thick journal that she had been sent, flicking through the pages

"I thought I heard something" Tia stood at the door, she wore a large t-shirt as a nightdress and her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail "you're back early. Hey, what's wrong?" Hilary hair had fallen over her face and hid most of it from view, but Tia could hear that Hilary was sniffing and noticed that her lip was trembling.

"Tala's stage two" Hilary looked at her friend her eyes filling with tears "Kai can't be far behind, I have so much work to do, then there's this Renaldo thing, and then theres Kai…. I kissed him!"

"Oh" Tia's eyes widened and she stifled a giggle, Hilary didn't seem to have noticed the reaction so she asked "Which bit of this can I help with?"

"You any good at science?"

"Nope"

"Any good at hard work involving lots of writing"

"Not really"

"Then there's only one bit you can help with and I don't want to talk about it right now"

"Ok" Tia nodded "but the minute you want to talk I've got the ice cream ready and waiting"

"Thanks…., I mean I know I ought to be concentrating on one thing and then this happens"

"So you do want to talk about it?" Tia asked grinning

"It was the last thing I wanted to do but I had to, but I also really wanted to do it...,"

"Um Hils?" Tia waved a hand in front of the brunettes face but got no response

"And there's some thing else I liked it, I really liked the first one but I knew it was fake, fake kisses are fine right? Even between friends! Tyson and I have kissed but we were fine! But then knowing it to be fake why did I enjoy it so much?" Hilary continued rambling and Tia started to worry, it was almost like she was having a nervous breakdown "But why did he do what he did? The look in his eyes was so intense….,"

There was a knock signalling someone at the door, Hilary still talking rapidly didn't hear, Tia turned quickly and went to open the door. Mariah and Millie stood there both fully dressed and looking fully awake, the tall blonde sighed feeling relieved

"Millie brought me up to speed on what's going on" Mariah held up a bag "we have the ingredients for comfort cake"

Before Tia could say anything inside the suite Hilary wailed "Oh my god! I can't believe I kissed him!"

Tia grinned as Mariah and Millie wonder on both faces raised their eyebrows enquiringly "Yeah we're going to need that cake."

--

"You OK Tala?" Bryan looked at his friend worriedly

Tala gritted his teeth "I'm fine" since leaning that the redheads illness had advanced the entire team had been very overprotective of him. To put it plainly they were treating him like a three year old, he kept expecting them to chew his food for him.

"Do you need anything?"

In his mind Tala mentally screamed the answer he wanted to give 'I need you to all go to hell' instead he just looked at Spencer replying "Thanks but I'm fine"

"Thanks Renaldo see you soon" flipping his mobile closed Kai walked into the room, for the last half hour his cell phone had been practically glued to his ear. "Renaldo is sending a couple of cars to meet us out front, I'm going to go get Hils, the rest of you go downstairs and wait for us"

"I'll come with you" Tala jumped up, seeing that the others were going to argue Kai cut in

"Good idea we can see if she has any opinion on all this" Feeling grateful Tala followed his captain out the door and down the corridor

"Thanks" Tala muttered

"Hn" Kia looked coldly across at him "What for?"

"Nothing" Tala grinned, at least Kai was still treating him the same.

--

"And then he kissed you?" Mariah asked her amber eyes glowing

"Yeah and there was something about it, it was…" Hilary drifted off into her own world and took a bite of her comfort cake

"Ok Hils come back to us" Tia joked

Mouth full the brunette muttered an unintelligible "Sorry" as she blushed

"So what was it like?" Mariah asked "what were his lips like?"

"So soft" Hilary sighed "and as he was kissing me my knees went all…." she shivered slightly remembering his touch, the other girls all squealed, as they took bites of their cake.

"Tell us more" Millie urged grinning

"He was just so different, Kai always seems so…. But he was so…." Hilary shrugged smiling happily "I can't describe it"

There was a knock at the door "Who is it?" Tia called out her mouth full of chocolate

"It's Kai" the girls froze and stared at each other "and Tala, is Hils there?"

"Answer the door" Tia whispered

"I can't" Hilary protested quietly feeling her face redden

"You there Hilary?" Tala called out "Renaldo's been in touch, he's sending someone to pick us up in a few minutes."

Hilary was silent feeling embarrassed and nervous, the last thing she wanted to do now was look at or talk to Kai. She could tell by the other girls faces that they were trying hard not to laugh and that made it even worse. She just shook her head her chocolate brown hair flicking violently around "I can't" she whispered "I'm not ready to see him yet"

"Hilary open up" Kai called out "Tia come on why are you taking so long"

"Get in the shower" Millie hissed grabbing the panicking Hilary by the arm and shoving her in the bathroom, as soon as the girls heard the water turn on Tia opened the door, the two boys took in her appearance and stopped in the doorway looking embarrassed.

She was still only wearing the large t-shirt, it had slipped down showing off one smooth shoulder and left her long legs on very obvious display "Excuse me for wanting to put on some clothes"

"Hey guys" the pink hared girl grinned as Tia allowed the Blitzkrieg boys to come in "Hilary's in the shower"

"Hey Mariah, Millie" Tala greeted the two girls totally ignoring Tia who grinned but said nothing

"Did you sleep alright Tala?" Millie asked no longer feeling shy around the redheaded Russian, after all you see that a guy sleeps like a baby and he becomes about as scary as a baby.

Tia looked at her cousin sharply, she knew what had happened last night but she couldn't help but be curious, Millie was normally shy and stuttering and here she was talking confidently with Tala. Tia had seen the magazines, she knew what the Blitzkrieg boys were like, no way was her cousin going to get involved with one of them, she'd have to talk to her about that.

"Yeah, those pill were amazing, I may need some more tonight"

"No problem, look Hilary will be out soon we'll bring her to meet you downstairs in ten minutes!"Millie told them glancing at Mariah and dropping her gaze quickly to the floor before looking over at Tia.

"Sure" Tala nodded he could see the three girls all exchanging amused looks "Is everything ok?"

"Yep" Mariah nodded vigorously snorting slightly as she looked at the totally oblivious Kai

"Just peachy" Millie tried to stifle her giggle but failed miserably

"Yeah absolutely perfect" Tia told him "now get out of here we've got stuff to do, Hilary will be down with you soon **Kai**" She said the last part in a very pointed way, Tala wondered if she was paying him back for ignoring her earlier or if she was saying that Hilary would be down specifically to see Kai.

Tala and Kai nodded and left the room as they entered the elevator Tala shot Kai a stern glance

"Did anything happen at the funeral that I should know about?"

Kai showed no outward perceptible signs of concern but inside he panicked a little how had Tala worked out that something happened with Hilary? "It was a funeral, nothing special happened"

"Really?" Tala asked disbelievingly

"Yes" Kai was firm hoping his friend would drop the subject

"Ok, but please remember that while you aren't saying anything Hilary is a girl, and girls tell each other **everything**" Tala allowed his threat to hang in the air grinning at the way Kai's whole body stiffened

'Everything?' Kai wondered, no…. Hilary wouldn't talk to her friends about what happened until she'd spoken to him…. right? Than again the girls had been acting odd when they were with them, Kai gulped as he questioned his friend

"Everything?"

"**EVERYTHING**!" Tala reiterated enjoying the slightly hunted look in Kai's eyes.

--

Her hair still wet from the shower Hilary finally came down the hotel stairs, she was followed closely by her 'support group'. The four girls stopped on the stairs before they got to the lobby, the Blitzkireg Boys were standing in the middle of the room, walking up to them was the old blade breaker team Ray, Kenny, Max and Tyson even Daichi had tagged along.

Tia was about to walk forward so the boys would know they were there but Hilary grabbed her arm hissing "Don't, not yet"

"Why not?" Mariah asked curiously

"Just wait" Hilary told them grinning "you are about to see the true beauty of male friendship here!"

--

Over with the boys Kai glared at Tyson, they were equal height now and stared eye to eye,

"What do you want?" Kai grunted

"We heard about Tala" Tyson responded

--

"True beauty of friendship?" Millie put to her suspiciously "they sound like robots"

"Allow me to translate" Hilary offered 'Tyson meant _'we heard and now we're worried about you, we wish you'd told us_'"

--

"Hn" Kai nodded "we were going to tell you later."

"Well now you don't have to, you ok?" Ray addressed the last part to Tala

"You know" Tala shrugged

--

"Ok" Hilary told the girls "Kai really intended to say, '_we wanted to tell you guys but weren't sure how to tell you, we didn't know how you'd feel about it all_'

and Ray really meant '_we're glad we know…, we care..., how do you feel Tala?_'

Tala meant to say '_I'm terrified, how can you even think to ask that_'?" Hilary smiled triumphantly as the others stifled giggles

"Oh I get it" Millie whispered "let me do the next bit"

--

"Cool" Tyson nodded "what now?"

"We're going to see Renaldo, he's an OK guy" Bryan shrugged "if you know what I mean!"

Max nodded "Yeah, we thought we could come with you, you know watch your back. You've watched ours before"

--

"Right" Millie grinned at the girls "Tyson meant '_I know how you're feeling, is there anything we can do?_'

Bryan meant '_We know someone who can help but we don't know if we can trust him totally, we're nervous_',

Max really wanted to say '_If you don't trust him perhaps we could come along, we consider you as good friends, we really want to help_'" Millie finished and dropped a small curtsey

"Excellent translating Millie" Hilary and the others silently applauded the girl "who's next?"

--

"Well if you got time" Kai shrugged

"We got time" Kenny told him

--

"Kai meant '_we'd really like that, it means a lot to us that you care_'" Mariah hissed

"Kenny really meant '_Of course we care._ _We will always have time for you guys_'"

--

"Ok then" Ian nodded looking off into the distance

"No problem" Daichi shrugged staring at his beyblade

"It's settled" Ray said decisively

--

Tia started this time "Ian meant '_Thanks guys you're true friends it means so much to us_'" the blonde pretended to wipe away tears of happiness

Mariah giggled and then held a hand over her heart looking choked up "Daichi was trying to say '_for you guys, we'd do anything after all we've been through so much together_'" Watching the pinkette Hilary clung to the stairs banister as she laughed.

Joining the act Millie fanned herself with her hands pretending to try to dry tears "and Ray meant '_any time __**brother**_'"

The four of them were laughing hard as they pretended to cry "You guys!" Hilary wailed and they hugged fake crying and giggling at the same time

"What the hell is the big joke?" Tala yelled, the boys had finally noticed the girls on the stairway and were all looking at them with a mixture of confusion and annoyance written over their faces.

"Nothing you'd understand honey" Tia smirked as she looked down on him, the girls continued on their way down the last few steps

"If you understand it anyone with only half a brain cell could understand it" Tala retorted

"That's exactly why you wouldn't understand" Tia breezed down the stairs and patted him on the head "now you be a good boy and go play"

"Bet you fifty quid Tala and Tia get together before their twenty third birthdays" Max hissed to Tyson

"Max!" Tala spun to stare at the blonde "Don't even **joke **about that,"

"Yeah!" Tia too was facing the blonde American but her insult was squarely aimed at Tala "Like I'd go out with him, I don't need him to hang around making me seem ugly just by his presence."

"Like anything could make you uglier!"

"I know," Tia nodded knowingly "I'm far too pretty for anyting to make me ugly"

"Seventy five?" Tyson offered

"You're on!" Max shook Tysons hand "and don't forget the other bet we've got going"

"I haven't"

"You're so ugly people literally run away screaming when they see you coming, you useless excuse for a dancer" Tala declared

"OK" Hilary cut in "enough bitchiness, when the boys are all better you guys can insult each other as much as you like, however until then you stop OK?"

"OK" Tai and Tala responded simultaneously glaring at each other

"Good!" Hilary sighed with relief "Now there are two cars outside waiting for us, who's coming?"

"Us and them" Kai indicated the Blade breakers and Blitzkrieg Boys, Hilary inwardly groaned, a whole day with just boys! Don't get her wrong she liked hanging with the boys but recently she had enjoyed a lot of female company as well, she hoped there would be some girls where they were headed.

"Right, see you later" she hugged her friends a little awkwardly the large black book under her arm getting in the way, she then moved around to leave.

"Hey Hils!" Hilary turned back to face her pink haired friend "Don't do anything I wouldn't do" Mariah yelled causing everyone to stare at her confusedly. Hilary glared evilly at Rays girlfriend before following after the departing group of boys

'Maybe spending all day with just the male of the species isn't such a bad thing' Hilary muttered as she left the hotel.

"What was all that about?" Tyson asked as Hilary walked towards them her eyes smouldering with anger

"Nothing" Hilary shrugged it off

"OK" Tyson, Daichi, Max, Kenny and Ray all headed for the first car, Hilary was about to follow when she remembered what Daichi could be like if he travelled in a car right after breakfast.

"You want to travel with us?" Kai asked guessing what she was thinking "Or do you want Daichi to throw up over you again?"

"You need to ask?" Hilary grinned over at him as she made her way to the second car with the Blitzkrieg boys.

* * *

Ok that chapter was a little pointless really but I needed to write something, I was in a slightly strange mood when I wrote this because I have seen Mamma Mia and now can't stop singing the music.

I once more would like to say that I can't guarantee when the next one will be up, I haven't even begun to write it and as you can probably guess my writers block continues to cause problems.

Please R&R


	28. Lab rats

The last chapter was really silly, I keep looking at it and thinking what the hell was I on about?

What the hell was I on? That thing with the translating seems so weird but some of you said it was good so I'm not going to go back and make alterations I'm just gonna leave it like it is. I also apologise for any spelling mistakes I was dancing around to ABBA music while sitting at my computator! Damn that movie was good.

Thanks for the nice reviews, I do apologise for the rubbishy last chapter, but I really feel I make up for it here, this one is pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

I do not own beyblade

* * *

Hilary yawning climbed into the car with the Blitzkrieg boys, Kai sat on the seat next to the window facing forwards, so she sat next to him Bryan was straight after her and sat opposite her, as the others got into the car it got a little tighter and Hilary felt a little uncomfortable sitting between Tala and Kai.

"We're taking a long route" the driver told them cheerfully "just to make sure we don't pick up any tails!"

"Bullet proof glass too" Tala hissed looking at the windows

"Good to know" Kai muttered, shifting in his sat his arm pressing even more on Hilary, she shivered a little

"You OK?" Tala looked down at her

"Just fine" she muttered. Their arms were touching, it was strange the sensation this caused. On one side was Tala, the feeling of his skin on hers triggered absolutely no reaction within her but somehow Kai's rough skin rubbing against her arm… '_No, don__'__t think about that__'_she told herself feeling a slight blush coming on _'__just look at__…__. Your shoes, yes, your favourite shoes, nice grey/blue two inch heels, aren__'__t they nice!?__'_

Kai looked down at the tired brunette beside him and inwardly smiled, she was blushing and staring intently at her feet, he wondered about what she was thinking. Even though they were all pretty thin he noticed that it was a bit of a squeeze in the back so he carefully lifted his arm up and draped it over the back of the seat giving them more space, no one else noticed but Kai felt Hilary tense up beside him.

'_Oh My God' _Hilary thought her whole body going rigid _'Don't look at him, Keep thinking about the shoes, lovely shoes, where did I buy them again? Oh that's right schuh, great store, I haven't been there for a while I must go again. I really love these shoes'_ She yawned tiredly, as she did so she realised that she hadn't slept in over thirty six hours. Man she was worn out!

"God I like these cars, hey look there's even a mini bar!" Spencer exclaimed opening up the tiny fridge on the left "I didn't get a chance to eat yet"

"Well we should soon be done here and back in time for dinner, right Hils?" Tala looked at the girl beside him "Hils?" he nudged her arm a little "Hils?"

"Sorry what?" Hilary looked a little sleepy as she gazed at the red head beside her

"You OK? You looked a bit out of it there!"

"Fine" she smiled dreamily "Just thinking,"

"What were you thinking about?" Ian asked

Hilary stifled a yawn "My shoes," she told them honestly and then slumped comfortably back into Kai.

"Your shoes?" Tala was disbelieving but then he noticed that Hilary had started to drift off so he put a finger to his lips signalling that the others should be quiet. He had noticed Kai's arm over the back and it amused him that Kai seemed so easy and comfortable with her snuggled up against his chest. How Spencer Bryan and Ian hadn't noticed Kai's feelings for Hilary yet was beyond him, it was so bloody obvious! Then again maybe they didn't notice because Kai seemed to alternate between being warm and friendly to being cold and idiotically anti social!

As he stared down at the sleeping girl Kai allowed an affectionate smile to reach his lips. She looked cute, angelic, and so peaceful, he wondered how long it would be before she was this peaceful again. Things were about to change again, what happened with Renaldo would be the start of something different. Recently Kai had been worried that he and his old team were drifting apart, he had worried before this tournament that he might lose Hilary as a friend. He had been very aware that his feelings for her were changing but could it be that he would gain something better than a friend if the next time they had a 'moment' he just threw caution to the winds and took a chance.

Slowly but surely during the hour long journey Kai's arm shifted down to rest around Hilary gently pulling her closer, for some reason (probably the fully stocked mini bar) the others didn't notice this, or if they did they didn't say anything.

--

Even though she was exhausted Hilary only slept for a short while and when she awoke they were just arriving, she stretched a little and then realised who she was lying against.

"Oh" Hilary pushed herself up quickly "sorry" her hand went over her mouth faking a yawn, actually she was checking she hadn't done the thing she would have found really embarrassing and drooled all over him.

"No problem" Kai told her "You must be wiped out!"

"Just a little" she smiled bashfully and looked up at her human pillow "you must be tired as well"

"I'll cope" the car pulled up outside a large building, standing, waiting, for them arms outstretched stood Renaldo. Smiling the Blitzkrieg boys climbed out of the car and had a cheerful reunion with their ex-fellow classmate.

"Tala, Ian, Bryan and Spencer! It has been way too long!" much to the boys dismay Renaldo enveloped each of them in a hug, the Blade breakers enjoyed the scene smiling at the obvious embarrassment of the Blitzkrieg boys. "And Kai" Renaldo moved forward as though to hug the bluenette but the expression on Kai's face made him drop his arms and offer out his hand.

"Renaldo, these are some friends, the Blade breakers Tyson, Ray, Max, Kenny and Daichi" Kai turned to where Hilary stood leaning against the car "and you remember Hilary"

"I could never forget that face" Renaldo walked forward and taking Hilary hand lifted it to his lips "Hilary, the girl I plan to spend my life with!" he kissed her hand.

"Quit it" Tala Kai and Spencer all hissed while Bryn and Ian commanded him to "Stop flirting!" Obviously Renaldo's penchant for flirting was well known.

"Hello Renaldo" Hilary laughed happily but firmly pulled her hand away "stop it, you're annoying them!"

"My dear girl, my only aim in life is to annoy them, that's why I want them cured so badly, without them I have no aim in life." He flashed her a smile and for a moment Hilary felt slightly breathless, he had a damn hot smile. "And if flirting with you annoys them then I MUST flirt with you."

"Well if you must" she bit her lip coyly, almost gasping when she realised that she was flirting with him,

"Please try not to act as though you don't enjoy it" he raised his eyebrows and winked

"I never said I didn't enjoy it" she retorted wondering how Renaldo managed to make her want to flirt back "however I never said I did either."

STOP IT Hilary mentally commanded herself, you like Kai, no! You can't like Kai, or Renaldo you are a single girl, you don't need a man! God the next boy that asks me out and hasn't got anything to do with beyblading I'm saying yes!!

Kai could feel anger boiling up inside of him as he watched the two of them, how dare Renaldo flirt with Hilary, and why was she flirting back? Damn Tala for getting ill right when he was about to kiss Hilary, no, that was unfair. It wasn't Tala's fault, he knew that! One other thing he knew was that he had to stop them from flirting and he had to do it now!

"Excuse me?" It was Ray who was the first to break the conversation "but do you mind telling us who you are?" Renaldo looked toward the Blade breakers and was astonished to see that all five of them were exuding anger and hatred while staring directly at him.

"Yeah, and flirt with her anymore and you'll see just what else we can break" Tyson threatened

"Geez Hilary" Renaldo grinned as he faced the team "I know Kai has the hots for you but I didn't realise you had a whole platoon of admirers."

"Their just friends" Hilary told him blushing at the '_I know Kai has the hots for you_' comment "Guys, this is Renaldo, he was at the abbey with Kai and he's gonna help us find a cure"

"Mm-hm" Max nodded "is he trustworthy?"

"Not at all" Renaldo told him cheerfully "but I'm afraid I'm all you've got!"

--

Hilary could feel Kai hovering beside her as they entered the warehouse, it made her smile to think that he was so protective of her. The building was bright and airy, halogen lights gave the room a blue look to it. It looked like a professional lab something you'd find in a hospital or a research facility, there were people in white lab coats scurrying around.

As the large group walked through the building people on all sides would stop and stare

"I don't like this" Tala hissed "this is exactly what I was afraid of, being stuck in some lab and being studied like a rat"

"Well you do look like one, but that won't happen" Tala promised

"You can't guarantee that!"

"That's why we're here" Tyson said firmly "we **can **guarantee that!"

"Through here!" Renaldo announced pushing open the door's at the end of the room

They walked through and were in a room filled with large tubes, it brought back bad memories for the Blitzkrieg boys reminding them of the treatment. For the blade breakers it reminded them of the times when team psykick had been trying to recreate their bit beasts.

There was a group of men all various ages standing around a table and one grim faced women a serious looking redhead redhead with a severe eyebrow problem. Hilary felt like crying, she was way out of her depth here and she was already beginning to miss her girl friends. Then Hilary's eyes focussed on the man standing in the centre of the group, he was just like the photo she had seem only older. She knew from doing the maths that he was at least 35 but he looked almost fifty. His hair was greying around his temples and he looked haggard.

Walking forward Hilary didn't even notice if the others were still with her she just walked straight towards the man with chocolate brown hair and very thin pale skin he looked up she immediately saw that he too had inherited his fathers Ruby eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously, she seemed so familiar yet he could swear he had never seen her before. That slight half smile tugging at one side of her mouth reminding him of his sister in law Abigail. The rest of the research team stared speculatively at the girl,

"Brady?" she whispered

"That's my name, I wanted yours, you look….familiar!"

"I'm Hilary, Hilary Tatibana, I…I'm your…."

"Hilary? Martins daughter?" she nodded "My niece!" he looked amazed, but he didn't find it hard to believe her, she looked just like pictures of his mother from when she was young "Why are you here?"

"I'm helping the Blitzkrieg boys" she looked back at her friends and smiled. "That's why I'm here I'm going to help you find a cure" there were some stifled laughs from the rest of the group but Hilary ignored them concentrating only on her uncle

"Really?" Brady looked the young girl up and down, he reached out and brushed her cheek "How old are you?"

"Seventeen, don't worry I forgive you for not getting me any birthday presents, shopping must be tough when you're a prisoner"

"Just a little" Brady chuckled as he looked at her "you're the same age I was when I started all this."

"Well whatever happens we'll be finishing it together!" Hilary smiled at him, he dropped his hand and looked sad

"I wish I could believe that,"

"I have your book" Hilary held up the large black book that Ianto had sent to her, immediately the group of scientists looked interested,

"Ianto said he'd keep it" Brady sounded confused and took the book from her

"Ianto is dead" Brady looked up stunned, his eyes filled with tears as he remembered the confident young man who had helped him and his family escape

"I thought it was just his wife that they got rid of?"

"He OD'd but they were gonna kill him anyway" Hilary said shortly looking down at the work on the table

"You don't seem to upset, he spoke of you with great fondness, he…"

"Don't!" Hilary told him sharply, the firm hold she had over her emotions was as always these days hanging by a thread. If he was to continue talking, telling her about Ianto, saying his name, she knew she would begin to cry.

Brady watched as Hilary's jaw stiffened, he smiled memories of his elder brothers came flooding back, whenever they got upset their chin would jut out and their face become set a passive mask to cover their feelings. He decided to change the subject "What do we know?"

The boys felt a bit superfluous as they all sat around drinking coffee watching the scientists in the room all talking and writing, Hilary had overcome any shyness she felt and was in her element as she discussed things with them, they seemed impressed by her knowledge but Brady just smiled at her sadly, she was so like him. Her brain absorbed information with speed and the thoughts and theories she discussed were way above her level but seemed to flow naturally from her mouth.

"Do you get the feeling that if we were to just disappear they'd not even notice?" Ian asked

"Actually I do!" Tyson nodded grinning, the boys all talked but Kai stood ignoring their conversation, he was watching Hilary, he had never believed that her just being smart could be so sexy. One minute she would be running her fingers through her hair tossing it over a shoulder and the next she would be shaking her head allowing it to ripple back into place. Her hands waving through the air enforcing her point and helping her describe what she meant.

"There's still a page missing!" The shout came from Brady and he held up the journal panicking "The cipher page, it's gone!"

"The cipher page? Shit!" Renaldo grabbed the book from him and flicked through it disbelievingly.

"This is all he sent me!" Hilary told them "and this letter but this had no cipher on it" she held up the letter and Brady snatched it form her.

"Analyse this" he thrust the letter at one of his team, the man nodded and scampered off.

"What's the cipher page?" Max enquired, he was the only one who didn't mind displaying his ignorance and the others were grateful that he had asked

"So that no one could decode my work I created a system where you needed a code in order to interpret the figures"

"Well surely you know it!" Kenny sounded disbelieving as he stared at the man

"It's an advanced code system and it's been over three years since I looked at this stuff, without that page we have nothing" Brady stood and threw his journal down on the desk "we can do nothing!"

"Surely you can do something!" Spencer yelled angrily

"Only Ianto would have known where that page was" Brady stared down at one of the photos on his desk "What did you do with it Ianto?"

Everyone stood around feeling despondent only Tyson didn't lose hope, all throughout this he had been watching Hilary. He had never seen Hilary entirely give up hope, she was standing looking thoughtful, her tongue ran along her bottom lip and Tyson grinned. He knew what was coming, he had seen her do that so many times before, right before she gave him a lecture or a pep talk or whatever else he was needing. Finally he saw her put her hand on her hips, her weight rested on one leg making one hip seem lower than the other.

"Here we go" Tyson muttered

"Alright!" Hilary grabbed everyone's attention "So we don't have the cipher page yet, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything. We can take samples from the Blitzkrieg boys, study the stuff in their systems and how the stages are affecting their bodies, we may even be able to find a way to slow down the affects of the process. Brady see what you can remember, use the new stuff to try make some sense of it all."

Everyone just stared

"Well what are you waiting for?" Hilary demanded "Get to work!"

It never surprised Tyson that Hilary could command a group of people that she didn't even know, her common sense and never say die attitude made people want to do as she said. The scientists all scurried around leading the Blitzkrieg boys to the bed set up in the room and sitting them down to take samples. Brady opened the book and started to look through it.

It was with immense satisfaction that Hilary watched people do her bidding she always enjoyed being in charge and there was no denying it! As she looked over at Brady her attention focussed on the photo frame on his desk, in an almost dreamlike state she walked forward. She picked up the frame and turned it, it was the photo, the one Ianto had sent her

"It's just a photo" Brady informed her "It's been studied and analysed, there's nothing on it."

"No" Hilary whispered as she traced over Ianto's face "It's just a copy of a favourite time"

"Actually it's an original"

"What?" Hilary looked up sharply

"That's the photo taken from the original film, or at least so Ianto told me"

Hilary began to think her brain working overtime. Suddenly she found herself realising why Ianto had sent her a photo, that one was a copy and she could bet there was something on it!

Hilary threw the photo down and strode to the door "Renaldo! I need a car!" Before anyone could question her Hilary had swept out of the room and away, a very confused looking Renaldo followed with Tyson and Ray. The Blitzkrieg boys all looked up surprised and Kai tried to move away from the person taking his blood sample but ended up being forced to sit down the needle in his arm causing a lot of pain.

Hilary was almost impossible to keep up with as she jogged down the corridor toward the door they had entered through

"Hils?" Tyson called out

Hilary seemed oblivious to Tyson as she opened the door and walked into the sunshine, Renaldo signalled to a driver.

"Hilary what is going on?" Ray panted "why are you leaving?"

"You guys stay, you're here to help the Blitzkrieg boys if they need it, I'm just going back to the hotel."

"Why?" Renaldo was looking at her strangely

"Just a theory" she shrugged and looked at the sleek black car that pulled up in front of her "now you boys work hard while I'm gone OK?" with her trademark grin Hilary waved goodbye.

--

Dying his hair from its conspicuous purple had not been something he enjoyed but he had to admit it made him feel a little less noticeable. Sitting in a car at the back of the hotel and contemplating his new hairstyle Boris watched as Hilary got out of her vehicle, he was surprised he had been sitting back here to stay out of sight of the paprazzi. Even with his new hair colour he was afraid of being recognised but he hadn't expected to see anything useful back here. He could see her say something to the driver and as Hilary got out she looked around almost as though she knew someone was watching her he grinned. Some one **is **watching he thought, someone you should be afraid of. Finally she ran into the hotel and the driver sat back in his seat opening up a paper.

"Sir?" Boris spoke into his radio

"What" snapped the familiar voice of Voltaire

"We have location on Hilary but none of the others"

"Alright" Voltaire paused "Make sure you stay with her, whatever happens this time don't lose her got it?"

"You want us to follow?"

"No…., this time" there was another long pause and then a sigh "Horatio's not gonna like it but this time bring Hilary in, if we have her the others will soon come to us"

"Yes sir"

"And for gods sake be discreet!" Voltaire snapped off the radio and Boris smiled, discreet wasn't his forte but he would try!

* * *

Ooh don't you just love the bad guys, they are always so ruthless! Ok so in the next chapter Hilary will run into some trouble, how will she escape? How will Kai react? How will Horatio take this? Where is the cipher page? What is on the photo? What is going on? Once more why am I asking you guys?

Please R&R


	29. A dangerous situation

Another quick update, I bet you all hate me now

Kind of a short one here guys but though it's random and kind of all over the place it's important!

Thanks for the reviews!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"I'm just going inside" Hilary told the driver as they pulled up outside the service entrance of the hotel. "but I'm only going to be about half an hour at the most, can you wait?"

"Sure" the man smiled cheerfully at her "I've got a paper, I'll wait right here."

"Thanks!" Hilary got out of the car and looked around, she had a funny feeling almost as though someone was watching her. She was so sure that someone was there, finally shaking her head she decided that all this was making her get way too paranoid! She turned around and headed into the hotel.

Running from the car and in through the back entrance, Hilary ran into the hotel and straight into Tia "Hey Hils where's the fire?"

"Sorry Tia I've got to go" Hilary tried to continue on but Tia grabbed her arm

"Look Hils I just wanted to talk to you about something!"

"I can't stop Tia" Hilary pointed to where she had left the driver waiting for her "I've got a car waiting, stay here and when I get back you can drive with me. We'll talk then OK?"

"Ok" Tia gave her friend an odd look before allowing her to run off, "but it's not really that important" she called after her.

--

Hilary ran along the corridors not noticing the people she passed as she ran, in her mind all she could think about was the photo, why would Ianto leave the real one with Brady? Why would he send her a copy? At her door she fumbled with the lock, pausing she took a breath, "just calm down" she told herself.

Once in her room Hilary picked up the photo Ianto had sent her, studying it carefully she noticed that it was quite a thick picture. Flicking her thumbnail across the edge of the paper it started to come away, slowly she peeled the two pieces apart.

The paper was covered in numbers, and drawings, it was the last page, the cipher page! Hilary was about to shove the paper in her pocket when she noticed a message on the piece of photo the cipher page had been attached to.

_30 seconds._

"Damn you Ianto!"

Hilary knew what this meant the paper in her hand would only last thirty seconds, Ianto had obviously been afraid someone would find the cipher. Hilary sniffed at the paper it was covered with a quickly degrading substance, grabbing her phone from her pocket she snapped a picture of the page, she took as many photos as possible making sure she got every piece of information before the ink disappeared.

She had just finished taking the pictures when she noticed that the battery on her phone was low, she switched it off and shoved it into her pocket.

--

"Hey Tia!" Mariah ran up to the blonde and throwing her arms around her hugged her tight "we won! Ray wasn't there so Gary had to take his place but we still won! It was amazing"

"Hey Mariah!" Tia grinned as they separated Mariah still bouncing around thrilled at her teams victory "Glad to hear things went well"

"Yeah want to come shopping with me? When Ray's not around I celebrate by going shopping and Hils isn't around so you want to come? We could find Millie…"

"I wish I could" Tia interrupted as she shook her head ruefully "I have to leave today"

"What why?" Mariah stared at the blonde feeling upset "You only just got here and it's so much fun with you around!"

"Thanks" Tia laughed feeling pleased that she had gotten along with Mariah so well "but Ming Mings video is finished and I just got offered this permanent dancing job in America! I'll be touring it's a great chance for me and I can't afford to turn it down. It could be my big break"

"Wow that's really good news" Mariah was honestly thrilled for Tia "Hilary says it's really tough to get into all that without connections"

"It can be" Tia shrugged "but I got…." she stopped talking, walking towards the door she pointed "that's Hils car, who's that?"

"Oh My God!" Mariah hissed as she watched Boris climb into the car outside the service entrance.

"What's going on?" Tia asked moving forward

"Get back" Mariah grabbed Tia and pulled her out of sight "that guy, he's dangerous"

"And he's in Hilary's car, why?"

"I don't know but I seriously doubt its something good"

They watched as Boris got out of the car and signalled two men to come forward, they walked around to the drivers side and pulled the driver out, the two girls gasped, horror wasw written all over their faces as they saw the gaping wound in the man's chest and the claret coloured liquid spilling from it.

--

"Fix that" Boris growled pointing to the bloodstain on the ground "is she sees the blood it won't work"

"Yes sir" one of the men climbed into the car and carefully re-positioned the vehicle so that the bloodstain was out of sight.

Looking up at the building Boris smiled, he couldn't see anyone around and there were no cameras in sight, slipping his gun back under his coat and into its holster. He grabbed one of his team by the shoulder "Get in the car, keep your head down, she spoke to him! She'll know what he looks like. Do not allow her to know what's going on until you have her in the car and away from the safety of the hotel."

"Sir!" The man bowed and jumped in the front seat and raised the paper in front of his face.

The other men all moved back to their own van, Boris paused before he climbed in, part of him was sure they hadn't been seen but another part of him made him cautious. He passed a scrutinizing glace across the building checking the windows, the doors.

There!

He could see a shadow by the wall. Sliding his hand back under his jacket and caressing the sleek metal beneath he headed for the door.

--

Renaldo strode down the corridor barking out orders, he was beginning to feel stressed, his drivers were all supposed to call in every half hour. The car that had taken Hilary away over two hours ago had made exactly three calls but after that had not made any sort of contact. He had put off telling the boys but he knew it would only be a matter of time before he would have to tell them something.

"Have you managed to get in touch with him?" Renaldo stood over the desk of his PA looking worried.

"Sir I've been trying to get in touch with him for a while now" the man sighed "I think something's gone wrong."

"Keep trying, do we know where the car is?"

"It's back at the hotel, it stopped there a while ago and hasn't moved since, sir it could be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Renaldo stared down at the man and was astonished by the way he nervously playing with his tie

"The cars had a problem when they first left the hotel, they were followed, they managed to lose them but…."

"But?"

"But we think it was Boris, and he may have been waiting when Hilary got back"

"Ok send someone else to that location." Renaldo snapped as he headed for the door "Oh and one more thing" he turned back "Make sure they're armed!"

--

"Oh my god they just killed that man" Mariah hissed her breath short and rasping, both girls stood their back against the wall trying to calm themselves down

"Who is that guy?" Tia asked her face pale under her tan

"Boris"

"The guy working with Hilary and Kai's grandfathers?"

"Yeah"

"I thought he had purple hair"

"He did" Mariah was beginning to regain her breath her hand over her heart as though she was trying to stop it beating so hard "where'd Hils go?"

"I don't know but she has to come back this way to get out again, if we wait here we can tell her what happened"

"Yeah good idea look… FUCK!"

"OK?" Tia was surprised as Mariah grabbed her and dragged her out of sight, understanding dawned as she realised Boris was at the door, they could just see him through the glass panelling, luckily he hadn't spotted them yet. "here" Tia whispered and she slammed her shaking hand on the service elevator button "come on, come on" the blonde muttered, as Boris opened the door behind them.

Finally the doors opened and the two girls rushed in. Boris turned just in time to see the doors close, he hadn't seen them and they sighed with relief as Tia hit the button and the lift started to move up.

"If we're not back there before Hilary. Damn! Her mobiles not on" Mariah muttered stuffing her phone back into her pocket tears springing to her eyes

"I know" Tia said flatly, "I'm thinking! I'm thinking!"

"Well we gotta think fast!"

--

Boris stared at the lift, it travelled up a few floors then stopped. He was curious and was about to call the lift down when he heard a door bang. Looking left he watched as Hilary came through the door, he froze ready to pounce when she stopped and dropped to her knees tying her shoelace. Sighing with relief Boris edged to the door and out.

--

Hearing the back door slam Hilary looked up, she could see someone walking out, she glanced at the persons back, he had a dark suit and almost black hair. He totally ignored the car awaiting her and headed to the left, she shrugged and went back to tying her shoelace.

She walked towards the back door humming happily, she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings as she looked at the picture in her hand. "God Ianto you couldn't have made it easy for me could you?"

"You know talking to yourself is the first sign of madness" the voice behind her made her jump

"Millie!" Hilary turned and grinned at the girl "I'm pretty sure that I'm well past the first sign of madness" Hilary ran a hand through her hair "Did you do Ok today?"

"We won, so did the White Tigers by the way"

"Ray will be pleased" Hilary sighed with relief "he didn't say anything but I know he was worried about leaving them today"

They had arrived at the back door, Hilary opened it and they walked out together

"Hey do you want to come with me?" Hilary grinned at the girl as they headed to the car "You can tell Ray the good news and get to see Maxie!"

Her skin pink Millie looked at the large car pondering the offered opportunity "I guess I could…" a slight pink blush covered her face. "I mean Ray will want to know who won what"

"Yeah that's why you want to come" Hilary punched her friend on the arm "come on" she opened the door

--

Tyson winced as he watched the needle pierce Kai's skin,

"Afraid of needles Ty?" Max joked as he looked at his friends face

"No" Tyson shook his head "I'm fine with needles"

"It's the blood!" Daichi told them "ever since last year he's had this thing with OW" Tyson whacked his team mate around the head

"Shut up Daichi" Tyson blushed as the others grinned.

"Ok we're all done here" one of the scientists carried the samples away leaving the boys together,

"So where'd Hils go?" Tala asked "she seemed like a girl with a mission when she left"

"She didn't say" Ray shrugged "I tried calling her but she didn't answer." they all shrugged and continued talking, none of them were too worried.

Well I say none of them, Kai was silent as they continued their conversation. While they all talked about who might have won the days tournament for some reason his mind was in turmoil. He had this strange feeling that something might be wrong, he wanted Hilary here now, he wanted her somewhere he could keep an eye on her. These new feelings were driving him crazy...

"Try again" Kai commanded

"Try what?" Ian asked surprised, they had all moved on and no one knew what he was on about.

"Calling Hilary" Kai stared at Ray "try calling her again!"

"What's up Kai?" Kenny looked at him curiously

"Just a feeling" Kai frowned at his response

"Kai has feelings?" Bryan joked

"I'm serious, she's been gone a while I'm worried!"

* * *

It was a bit short I know.

Did ya like it or hate it? You know how to tell me what you thought!

Please R&R


	30. Dodging Bullets

Hey people I am so sorry that I was gone so long!! I know I am usually really regular but I had a family themed interruption and spent a little while in London, can't give you all the details, kinda want to but I won't depress you all!

I have spent the last week feeling very low and then I opened my email to find loads of emails from and it actually cheered me up!

Love you guys!

I wrote this staright away and I apologise for any mistakes or if it seems inconsistent (big words today!) but I haven't had time to check back on the story to make sure it all makes sense!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

Sitting in the car Boris watched as Hilary spoke to a young blonde he didn't recognise,

"just get in the god damn car" Boris hissed through gritted teeth

The blonde was blushing about something and Hilary punched her on the arm

"why do girls talk so much?" his men kept silent they knew not to bother answering the man as he rambled angrily.

Finally Hilary opened the car door, she was about to step in when

"Hilary!" Another blonde and a pink haired girl that Boris did recognise from somewhere had run from the building "Get away from that car!"

--

"We can't seem to get in touch with Hilary" Tyson quickly explained to Renaldo "We've tried phoning her but she's switched it off"

"Is there any way you can get in touch with her?" Max asked

"Yeah" Bryan nodded "she used one of you cars right? Didn't the drivers have radios in those cars?"

"They did" Kenny nodded "I remember the driver used one while we were travelling here!"

There was an expectant silence, finally unable to think of a way to stall them Renaldo knew he had to be honest

"We've already tried to contact the driver" Renaldo told them sorrowfully

"Tried?" Tyson asked dangerously standing to face the man

"Yes tried, we've already attempted to make contact with the driver"

"So what exactly are you saying?" Ray asked worriedly

"Hilary's driver hasn't been in touch for a while and we are pretty sure that something has happened!" Renaldo almost couldn't bear the looks being sent his way as the group of boys stared at him "We've sent someone to the scene but they've said that Boris' men were around earlier, thay managed to shake him so he may have gone back to the hotel. He might have her…."

"No" Max shook his head "don't you dare say that"

"If he has someones going to pay" Kenny warned looking unusually fierce

"That bastard had better not have laid a finger on her" Spencer hissed punching his fist into his palm while everyone else merely nodded in agreement

The anger in the room was so tangible that Renaldo was surprised, this situation was bad, he knew that, they knew that, but he hadn't been prepared for them **all **to get so angry. The blitzkrieg boys were known for their cold personalities and the way they didn't really care who they hurt, but here they were just as worried as the blade breakers.

--

Coming round to the back of the building and seeing he danger her friend and cousin were in Tia immediately forgot about playing it cool and not drawing attention to herself. All she knew was that they needed to get away from the people awaiting them, and they needed to do it fast!

"Hilary!" Tia shouted as she and Mariah ran forward "Get away from that car!"

Hilary was dumbfounded as her two friends burst out the door and headed towards her screaming their warning, looking down at the driver she could see he had turned, she looked right into his eyes.

This was **not** the man that had driven her here, not only that, she could plainly see that he was reaching for a gun from under his jacket.

A shot rang out and the glass in the doorway behind Tia and Mariah shattered, all four girls ducked down instinctively, Millie yanked the pepper spray from her pocket and sprayed it into the drivers eyes

"Get into the car!" Hilary yelled to her friends jumping into the front seat and shoving the driver out slamming closed the door behind him with great force. The man rolled on the ground in pain clawing at his eyes and screaming. Millie jumped into the back seat keeping her head down.

The other girls moved forward using the car as a barrier and keeping low, they climbed in Mariah in the front and Tai beside her cousin in the back, the second they were all in the car Hilary slammed her foot down and the vehicle shot away from the hotel. Mariah and Tia had to hold on tight as they attempted to grab the doors that they hadn't had time to close yet.

Finally all the car doors were closed "How did they miss the car so often?" Tia asked a little breathlessly as Hilary drove away at breakneck speed

"They didn't. Bullet proof glass" Hilary told them expertly negotiating the tight corners in the parking area "Tala told me about it when we were in these earlier! And by the way, where did you get pepper spray Millie?"

"Tia got it for me after the Kendall thing..., um Hils..." Millie was staring out the back window "they're following us!"

A shot rang out and something hit the back window.

Hilary instinctively ducked unintentionally causing the car to swerve "Shit! Sorry guys! Mariah when I was in the car last time the driver occaisonally spoke into a radio it was in the glove compartment." Hilary didn't take her eyes from the road as she carefully navigated through traffic trying not to kill anyone as they hurtled through the busy streets.

Mariah leant forward and pulled open the small compartment, "got it" she held the radio to her mouth and pressed the button "Hello?"

--

"RENALDO! Theres some girl called Mar..." the man looked up surprised as his PA ran into the room where he sat with the group of boys who were getting increasingly angry and restless.

"Not now! Get her number I'll call her back!"

"But Sir! There's some girl called Mariah on the car radio, she's with Hilary"

"Mariah?" Ray jumped up from his chair and sped out the door turning left down the corridor

"The other way Ray" Renaldo shouted and seconds later Ray could be seen running past the door in the opposite direction

--

"Hello where'd you go to? We haven't got time for this! For gods sake someone answer"

"Mariah?" Ray was the first to get to the radio and he called down it desperately

"Ray!" Mariah cried out triumphantly "we're in a car, Boris shot the driver! He shot at us"

"Was anyone hurt? are you alright? what are you doing in the car anyway? Where did Boris spring from?" Ray was panicking as he questioned his girlfriend

"Calm down" it was Renaldo he took the radio from Ray and asked calmly "Who's driving?"

"Hilary and…. ARGH!" suddenly there was a chorus of screams that sounded lik it came from more than just one or two persons

"Mariah? Mariah?" Ray was yelling and fighting Renaldo for the radio as the screaming and squealing continued

"Oh shit we're all gonna die!" Mariah wailed infuriating Hialry

"Shut up! Renaldo?" Hilary grabbed the radio from her friend

"You Ok Hils?"

"They're still chasing us, I'm driving faster than I've ever driven before and more recklessly than ever before, I don't know where I'm headed, they're shooting at us, the back window finally broke, they shot at it way to many times and we're low on fuel. But asides from that I'm fine!" she took a deep breath "How you doing?"

Renaldo couldn't stop his laughter at her question "Sorry really dumb question, Where are you?"

"England!" Hilary told him sarcastically before wailing "I don't know where I am you DUMBASS, I'm just driving in the direction I came here in!"

"Wait" Millie yelled from the back "we're on Colsham street if that makes any sense!"

"Is that Millie?" Tala groaned "Oh please god tell me Tia isn't there as well!"

"Now is neither the time or the place Tala" Tia yelled stifling her laughter as a bullet sped through the car and into the front windsheild "we're on Old street and we're coming up to a road called Goswell, where are we headed?"

"Let me get a map" Renaldo yelled, his PA ran forward with a large street map and immediately everyone poured over it trying to find the roads the girls had mentioned

"Sometime today would be nice" Hilary yelled as she turned another corner "Now we're on Goswell headed to Pentonville"

"At least they've stopped shooting" Millie called promptly falling onto the floor as the car turned a sharp corner

"Hey we're near Kings Cross" Mariah cried out triumphantly pointing at the sign

"

Hilary look out!", Hilary's own gaze flicked up to look at the sign but luckily Tia was still looking at the road

Suddenly there were louder screams than before, then a smash, and an eerie silence

"Hilary? Hilary!!"

--

Their pursuers seemed to have stopped shooting now, almost as if they were out of bullets, the girls were beggining to feel relieved and almost hopeful when a kid ran out into the road. Tia yelled a warning and Hilary swerving to avoid him lost control, the car had headed straight into a lamp post.

All four girls groaned as they dragged themselves from the car but they weren't safe yet, they could hear their pursurers still chasing them.

"Run!" Hilary yelled grabbing Mariahs hand, Tia grabbed Millies and the four of them ran off as Boris's car came thundering down the street after them.

--

Renaldo and the boys were headed out to the cars along with a few of Renaldos security guards. They all filed out and jumped into various cars.

"Can you all hear me?" Renaldo called in the radio, there was a chorus of 'yes's' as people acknowledged his message "OK" Renaldo nodded "we know where abouts they were, each group will be dropped close to where we last had contact with them. Be careful Boris is still after them and he may still be armed"

--

Making sure they stuck together the girls had been running trying to stick to busy places and streets but Boris didn't seem to care who saw him and what they saw as he chased after them pushing people into the street in his bid to catch the girls.

The girls took a wrong turn and soon they were in a back street with no one in sight.

"Where do we go?" Mariah panted as the four girls looked around

"Down there?" Tia asked as she pointed to the left rubbing the sweat from her forehead

"It's a dead end" Hilary exclaimed peering down the alleyway bending over trying to rid herself of the aching stitch in her side

"So's this one" Millie was the only one seemingly unaffected by the running as she pointed in another direction

"They're all dead ends" Mariah whispered fearfully "and I can hear them, he's coming."

"This way" Hilary led them down one of the alleyways and stopped about halfway down "this is as good a place as any"

"For what?" Mariah asked noticing the hard look on her friends face

"For a fight" Tai answered for Hilary, to her left she noticed a piece of piping, she picked it up and tested it's strength "Millie you stay behind me Ok?"

Millie nodded but Hilary shook her head "No"

"What do you mean no?" Tia asked "Millie's no fighter, she can't even kill a spider. Seriously she picks them up and throws them out a window, she cried the last time I killed one"

It was at that moment that they were found by Boris and his men

"There's nowhere to run" Boris sneered "but if you come with us Hilary we might let your friends go"

"Shut the fuck up Boris" Hilary looked over at Mariah surprised by the malice and anger in her voice "don't even try to pretend you'd let us go, we all know you wouldn't. So how about we dispense with the niceties and we'll just kick your asses!"

"As you wish" Boris laughed "This shall be fun"

"Millie" Hilary hissed backing away further away from Boris and edging in front of the blonde, "I've seen you on the trwadmills. You're a fast runner right?"

"Mm-hm" Millie nodded her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking but she had been the fastest out of the four of them all the way and she still had plenty of energy.

"Good, when I say 'run' Mariah, Tia and I will get you an exit space on the left you get this phone out of here." she slipped the yong blonde the cell phone on which she had saved the cipher pages photos. "Give it the Blitzkrieg boys, tell them it's the cipher"

"What about you three?" Millie whispered "I can't just…."

"Yes you can" Tia grabbed her cousins arm and gripped it tightly "You go, get help if you can, but you run and you don't look back. Go to the hotel, tell Jerome and the others, they'll know what to do."

"Ready?" Hilary asked watching as Boris and his three remaining accomplices moved forward, Millie nodded

"I think so" Mariah muttered feeling nervous then she remembered Ray condition after he had battled the Blitzkrieg boys while they were still under Boris' power her hair seemed to fly up into the air like she was beyblading and her eyes flashed angrily "No, I know so!"

"Lets do this already" Tia whacked the piping she held into her palm

"Just be careful" Millie whispered

"We will! RUN!" Hilary commanded as she and Tia charged at the man blocking the left of the alleyway, Mariah followed closely staying by Millie to make sure no one grabbed her.

Tia whacked the closest man around the head with the piping and then tackled him down in a way that would make any Rugby player proud, he fell crashing to the ground, Tia grabbing his head and knocking it to the ground, Boris saw what they were trying and headed towards them, Hilary swerved flying off the ground in order to kick Boris full force in the chest she kicked so hard her heel actually cut into him. As Boris fell back Mariah launched herself at him throwing her arms around his chest and forcing him to the ground where she twisted his arm back forcing her heeled shoe into his back causing him to cry out in pain! Millie took the opportunity to run and clutching the phone tightly sprinted full speed out of the alley and down the street.

"Get her!" Boris wheezed and one of the men who hadn't yet been taken down began to run after the blonde, Hilary was seconds behind as she leapt onto the mans back wrapping her arm around his neck and tightening her hold and wrenching him back. Tia saw the last man go to help Boris off the ground and leapt up from where she was bashing her victims head into the ground and threw herself at the man not noticing the knife he had pulled out.

--

Millie ran blindly not seeing where she was going just knowing she had to get away, she charged down the road trying to make sure she didn't damage the precious phone. She noticed a street sign and realised that she was headed back the way she had come. Turning a corner she suddenly collided with someone, she fell forward and the phone dropped from her hands. Strong arms caught both her and the cell phone.

"Millie?" she looked up and almost cried with relief as she saw who had caught her,

"Tala!" the redhead pulled her upright, behind him the rest of the team stared at the blonde as panting exhausted she clutched Tala's arm waving her hand in the direction she had come "back there…. Boris, the others, fighting"

At that moment they heard a shrill scream,

"Spence contact the others and stay with her, tell them where we were headed" Kai commanded as he and the others ran quickly back the way she had come

* * *

Again apologies for any bad spelling this was a quickly written piece!

Tia's vicious, I didn't mean to have her so harsh! In fact Mariah and Hilary are pretty tough in this chapter as well!

Thanks for the reviews and thankyou to everyone who favourited the story!

I'll try not to take so long this time.

Please R&R


	31. Hospital stays

Thanks for the reviews guys!! I think I've replied to everyone!

Just so you know, I do not own beyblade

* * *

**Previously...**

"Get her!" Boris wheezed and one of the men who hadn't yet been taken down began to run after the blonde, Hilary was seconds behind as she leapt onto the mans back wrapping her arm around his neck and tightening her hold and wrenching him back. Tia saw the last man go to help Boris off the ground and leapt up from where she was bashing her victims head into the ground and threw herself at the man not noticing the knife he had pulled out.

**And Now...**

* * *

For a few moments Tia and the man fought, she was able to put up a fight until she spotted the gleaming silver of his knife and immediately tried to pull away. There was an evil twinkle in the mans eyes she could see his knife head for her leg and tried to grab for it but failed. Tia screamed as the cold metal cut into her and sliced down through the tender flesh, Mariah hearing the scream jumped involuntarily loosening her grip on Boris immediately she found the man getting out from under her and forcing her down onto the ground. She cried out as he punched her on the side of her head causing her to black out.

Hilary's arm slackened as she heard her two friends cries of pain and the man she was fighting finally able to breathe charged backwards smacking her against the wall. Unable to keep her grip she slipped from his back and crashed to the ground. Massaging his throat the man turned on her "BITCH" he pulled his leg back and swung it full force into Hilary's stomach. She choked up blood and groaned as he pulled his leg back ready to go again.

"Don't, you, dare!" Kai's voice was low and sinister as he grabbed Hilary's attacker and spinning him round smashed his fist into the mans face.

Bryan and Ian headed for Boris and threw him off Mariah sending him to the ground, Bryan tried to secure Boris but the man pulled knife from his pocket and charged at him. Bryans quick reflex's meant that he could easily dodge the knife but Boris slippery as ever managed to get away. Running he got back to the car and drove off full speed

Ian checked on the unconscious man on the ground making sure he wasn't going to give them any more trouble, Tala went straight for Tia's attacker and brought his elbow down on the back of the mans neck hitting a tender point and knocking him out. The redhead dropped to his knees beside the injured blonde and inspected her leg, the blood was flowing unchecked and she looked severely weakened

"Tala" she whispered fearfully her face completely white "how bad is it?"

Tala cringed as he looked at the deep gash, his eyes darted up to the terrified girls face so he smiled "It's nothing you big baby, just stay calm and don't be a drama queen. Kai?" shrugging off his jacket and using it to wrap around her leg slowing the flow of blood Tala turned and found that the Bluenette was still punching Hilary's attacker "KAI!"

Kai was in a blind rage as he repeatedly punched Hilary's assailant, each time his fist met with the mans bloody face he smiled. Hilary pulled herself up off the ground and stood by Kai's arm looking fearful "Kai?" immediately he stopped hitting the man and looked at her. His eyes were unseeing for a moment then they slowly focussed, she still looked afraid then coughing she fell forwards. Seeing her descent Kai dropped the man he was holding and caught her in his arms before she was even close to the ground.

"Hilary?" he looked down at her with concern in his grey eyes

"Kai we need to get them to a hospital" Tala told him, Kai looked up his eyes blank and void "we need to get them to a hospital now Kai!" looking down at Hilary's unconscious face the bluenette nodded confusedly.

"Yeah, hospital" in the distance they could hear the others coming towards them, Renaldo could be heard yelling orders to his men sending them after the car Boris had escaped in.

Tala continued to hold Tia's leg tightening his jacket around the open wound. When he looked up he could see that the girl was slowly lying back completely exhausted, he could tell that she was about to pass out and then remembered what Hilary had said after the shooting, about making her stay awake. How she had insisted that Kai keep her talking

"Tia!" Tala yelled at her "Come on stay with us!" the girl mumbled something unintelligible "Tia if you're not around who's going to drive me crazy huh? Who's going to insult me?"

The blonde smiled sleepily "Don't worry Tala if I'm not around someone else will notice your faults and take over, there are so many of them it's not going to be hard to replace..."

--

"Just be careful over the next few days" the doctor told Hilary as she walked down the corridor

"I will, thank you" She paused, Kai was standing at the end of the corridor, he was leanign against the wall arms crossed and eyes half closed. "Goodbye"

"Goodbye" the doctor turned and walked quickly away looking at his next patient's chart

Hilary walked forward slowly holding a hand over her stomach, there was still a dull ache despite the painkillers. As she reached him he pushed himself off the wall and blocked her path.

"Hilary" she could hear pain in his voice as he whispered her name "are you….?"

"I'm Ok" she peered under his hair and saw that he was staring at the ground, his eyes filled with remorse. He was trying not to look at her, smiling she put a hand up and placed it on his cheek. This took him by surprise and he finally looked up meeting her eyes. "What's wrong Kai?"

"The way you looked at me when I was hitting that guy, it was like you hated me, or were afraid….I didn't mean to…" he looked down again not able to think of anything else to say

"You freaked me out a little that's all" she placed her other hand on his other cheek and forced him to look at her "Kai I will never hate you, I couldn't."

"When he hurt you I just saw red, I…."

"It's OK"

Kai stared down at her, she was smiling and he believed every word she had said about not hating him, their faces were so close he could feel her warm breath on his lips. They were getting nearer to each other, moving forward so slowly it was almost unnoticeable, it wasn't until his lips were mere millimetres from her face that Hilary suddenly came to her senses. Pulling away she flushed fiery red and walked away from him towards the intensive care unit where Tia was being treated. In Tia's own words 'This wasn't the time or the place!'

--

Face unreadable Ray stood with Mariah as she filled out the paperwork to discharge herself from hospiltal, she had a large bruise on her forehead and every time Ray saw it he felt a flash of anger that made him want to hit something. He had never felt so angry in all his life, this wasn't at all like him, he was always the calm even tempered one. While the rest of his team mates would over react he would be logical and relaxed, however someone hits his girl and he becomes the typical male neanderthal all angry and violent.

Signing her name with a flourish Mariah looked up at Ray and smiled "All done!"

"Yeah" Ray nodded and with one arm around Mariah waist he led her to a chair "you sit there I'll just wait at the desk while they get this pescription" she sat and he was about to walk away when Mariah grabbed his arm, she looked at him worried by the look on his face

"Ray?" Mariah pulled him towards her and kissed him on the cheek "Don't worry about it"

"You could have died" Ray hissed kneeling in front of her "how can I not worry?"

"Because I didn't and I'll be more careful in future, I promise"

"Do you have any idea what I would have done if you died?" he stood staring down at her

"No" Mariah cocked her head to one side and looked up at him "what would you have done?"

"I don't know either, Mariah I could barely survive when we were separated by your brother, how would I even begin to cope if you were taken from me completely?" Ray suddenly noticed that she was smiling "What?"

"I love you too" she smiled at him, her bright smile earning a loving look from her boyfriend "This is where you're supposed to say 'I love you' back to me"

"I love you" Ray chuckled as he said this and knelt back down in front of her "I really do. Now do you love me enough to avoid situations where you might get shot and killed"

She pondered this for a moment before nodding "I love you enough to try" she giggled as she pressed her lips against his

"Um Miss Wong?" flushing the young couple stood to face the nurse "here are your pain killers and a pescription for more."

"Thanks" Mariah mumbled taking the paper bag

"How much do we owe you?" Ray asked

"NHS" the nurse shrugged "don't worry about it, oh and by the way, a head injury like that can cause concussion, you may want to make sure you're not alone, make sure someone stays with you in case you have trouble in the night"

"Oh I think I can manage that" Mariah grinned as she looked at Ray who returned the look feeling amused despite his embarrassment.

--

The Blitzkrieg boys all sat in the hospital corridor waiting they had been here for hours, Hilary and Mariah had been examined and received the all clear but they were still awaiting news on Tia. Ray had come by and before he took Mariah straight back to the hotel they had all tried to convince Hilary to go as well, she had flat out refused to leave saying that she needed to make sure her friend was OK.

Instead of being made to wait outside in the corridor Hilary stayed with Millie and her cousins while they were in Tia's room talking with the doctors. Finally the door opened, team Reformation walked out with Hilary, the Blitzkrieg boys stood up. The male members of the team walked off looking sombre, Hilary hugged Millie and whispered something to her, Millie nodded and then spotting the awaiting team moved towards them

"Hi guys" the blonde walked over to the team and gave the briefest of smiles brushing away some tears

"Are you OK?" Tala gazed at her worriedly

"I'll be alright, I better go my cousins think it was some insane stalker/ paparazzi attack and they want to keep an eye on me" She turned to wave at her team who were waiting for her, before she walked off with her cousins Millie walked up to Tala. "The doctors say if you hadn't bound up her leg she might lost a lot more blood and then….. Well, I just wanted to say thank you!" she stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek, then quickly turning she ran down the corridor.

Giggling a little at the blush on Tala's face Hilary walked towards the awaiting team. It amused her that Tala 'the player' could be so embarassed by Millies innocent little display of affection and gratitude.

"Well?" Tala asked searching the brunette's face "What's the real deal with Tia?"

"She'll live" Hilary told them "but…" she fell silent biting her lip nervously

"But?" Tala prompted

"It's bad her muscles were sliced, she'll be Ok, she'll heal and though she'll always limp she will very likely walk again."

"That's good isn't it?" Kai moved forward and took her arm all thoughts of the moment they had shared earlier gone right now she needed his help "She'll be Ok?"

"She's a dancer Kai" Hilary sniffed "that's all she's ever wanted, all her life. She was about to go on tour and everything! She can never have any of that now, and it's my fault! If she hadn't been waiting for me and seen Boris." she began to cry as she thought about all of Tia's hopes and dreams. Dreams that now would remain only dreams.

"It's not your fault, it's our fault, it's his fault!" Tala told her staring at the door she had just walked through "FUCK" he yelled turning and punching the wall. "I'm gonna kill him"

"Chill Tala" Kai glared at his friend "we will get revenge but for now we need to concentrate on getting better. Stay calm and don't make a bad situation worse."

Hilary walked over to Tala "She wants to talk to you, she doesn't know you're here but she probably heard you just now though..." Tala stared unresponsively at the ground "If you don't want to go in I could make an excuse."

"No" Tala shook his head "I'll go in."

"Five minutes, and please, try not to kill each other" Hilary warned him smiling "I think we've all had enough of that for one day!"

--

Tia smiled weakly as Tala walked into the room, he stumbled slightly when he looked at her, her blonde hair looked limp against the crisp white pillow. She was pale, her usually well tanned skin looking sickly, her eyes hollow with dark rings around them and her face twisted in pain. Even though Tala disliked the girl in his heart of hearts he knew there was no denying that she was normally very pretty and lying there she looked like an entirely different person.

"That bad? I thought nothing could make me look uglier than I already was!" she gave him a weak smile

"And I thought that being in my presence was bound to make you uglier!" he quipped feeling relieved when her smile widened. "All this fuss over that paper cut you had?"

"Yeah I know, but don't worry I'll be out of hospital and bugging you again in no time"

"You better be" this was said in a tender way that made them both drop their gazes to the floor, the two of them fell silent smiling awkwardly

"Thanks Tala." he looked up to see her looking directly at him again, her face grew serious and slightly sad, she looked for a moment so unlike her normal feisty self he wanted to break something. "Everyone else is treating me different, like I'm going to break, you're… you're acting the same. I owe you"

"No" he moved to the bed and took her hand saying seriously "I owe you, I owe you so much. If we had lost the stuff on that phone…"

"Really?"

"Yes" Tala responded curiously her voice had changed back to it's slightly sarcastic tone

"Well don't worry" she gave her characteristic sly smile "I'll make sure you pay me back, one day I'll say jump and you'll have to ask how high"

He laughed nodding "Well I guess….," he looked up let go of her hand as he choked out, "Theodora Davis?"

"What?" Tia face dropped and she turned to see what he was looking at, behind her was a sign behind her bed denoting her name and medical details

"Your name's Theodora?"

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you" Tia promised flushing annoyed that he now knew her real name

"What kind of a name is Theodora?"

"What kind of a name is Tala?" she crossed her arms and stared out of the window

"Sorry, but it is an odd name" Tala tried to stop himself from smiling but discovered that it was impossible

"Look I've been teased about that name all my life so any jokes you want to make I've heard them all before"

Tia looked back and grinned "My dad was Theo, short for Theodore. He died before I was born so mum named me after him."

"I didn't know sorry!"

"Yeah…. Theodora's a rubbish name!"

"I meant sorry about your dad"

"I know, but I never knew him, it's cool. It could have been worse she could have gone with her first choice"

"What was her first choice?"

"She wanted to name me after grandpa Fred, is Frederica better or worse than Theodora?" she giggled and smiled at him

"They're both pretty bad, I guess, at least now I've got more ammo for when we fight" Tala tried to return the smile but found that he couldn't, he dropped his gaze to the floor "Tia, Hilary said…"

"That I would never dance again? I know. Don't look so down Tala this is the kinda thing mediocre afternoon TV movies are made of." for a moment her eyes glistened but she blinked quickly and forced a smile "Besides you said I was rubbish"

"You weren't…., God!" he looked up his eyes filled with guilt "I can't even imagine how that feels, I wish I could sympathise properly"

"Well if you really want to know how it feels I could damage both your arms so you can never beyblade again" she laughed as he stared at her a horrified expression on his face. "Wow, you really don't know how to take a joke do you?"

"I'm surprised you're even in the mood to joke."

"I'm a dancer Tala, or I was! One thing about dancers" she grinned "we know how to bounce back." she lay back on the bed smiling sleepily "but in order to do that I need to sleep. I just wanted to say thank you now, while I'm still doped up on the morphine. You know me my mood changes quickly and saying thanks to you is painful"

"Ditto, only I'm not doped up on morphine" he turned to leave

"Tala!" he turned back

"Yes?"

"Hilary hit her head pretty hard, as I'm stuck in here she'll be alone in her suite tonight. I'm worried about concussion could you make sure she stays in your suite for the night or something?"

"I think Kai would be amenable to that" Tala gave a knowing smile that told Tia that Hilary's feelings for Kai were not unrequited.

"I bet he would be." Tia grinned before sinking back into the large pillow and closing her eyes.

--

Hilary stood in the elevator with the Blitzkrieg boys arguing heatedly with Tala

"I'll be fine!"

"Tia asked me to make sure you were OK"

"And you and Tia are such good friends you just have to do what she asks" Hilary threw her arms in the air angrily

"No!" Tala crossed his arms and stared down at the angry girl "But we owe her one."

"You know what" Hilary smiled evilly at him as she continued "I think Max was right, you and Tia could end up together, she is you're type, blonde tall, very pretty." Bryan and Ian scoffed at this but Spencer nodded grinning

"Max is usually right about these things, he was right about Rick and that girl. Damn I lost some money on that one"

"I would never date Tia" Tala proclaimed angrily "I hate her"

"They say there's a very thin line between love and hate" Hilary smirked at him enjoying his anger. Tala got very red when he was angry

"No there isn't" Tala argued desperately "There's a huge deep trench so wide you can't see the other side and it's **filled** with blondes even more beautiful than she is. Which by the way as she is beautiful is **very, very **beautiful"

There was silence after this as all the boys (except Kai) took on a glazed look, silly smiles crossing their faces causing Hilary to feel very annoyed

"You're thinking about that trench aren't you?" Hilary asked looking disdainfully at the team

"Oh yeah" they all nodded

"Idiots" Kai hissed angrily finally breaking his silent behaviour "but Tala's right you ought to sleep in our suite tonight" he looked down at Hilary his eyes silently commanding her to obey.

"Ok just let me get some stuff" Hilary shrugged not bothering to argue with Kai and not really wanting to either "but I'm only agreeing to this because Tala finally admitted something"

"What did I admit" Tala yelled as the doors opened

"**You** admitted Tia was beautiful" Hilary walked out of the elevator and towards her room

"No I didn't!" he protested angrily looking to his team mates for support

"Actually mate you sort of did!"

--

Hilary lay back in the bed and sighed, she guessed that everyone else was asleep (Tala with the aid of some pills) but how they slept with this noise she'd never know. Kai had been right about the boys snoring it was worse than Daichi and Tyson combined, unfortunately that wasn't the only thing keeping her awake.

Finally unable to take the nasally sounds coming from the other rooms any longer she pulled a pillow over her head trying to shut out the noise. This was actually a very bad idea, with the pillow over her head the other reason for why she couldn't sleep became almost unbearable.

Kai.

She was in his bed so it was understandable that his scent covered the pillows and sheets but it was driving her crazy. He was on the couch in the next room, when she had gone to bed he had been flicking through the TV channels but now there was silence and she guessed he was asleep. Finally unable to stand the smell any longer Hilary got up and pulled on the dressing gown, his dressing gown. For a second she thought about Kai and how he had worn this same piece of clothing after getting out of the shower….

"Stop it!" Hilary decided to go to her room and get some of the eucalyptus oil she had by her bed, maybe that would cover the scent.

Creeping out Hilary could see that Kai wasn't on the couch, she was about to make her way to the door when she heard him, he was talking to someone probably on the phone. For a second he sounded angry, then he mentioned Voltaire, worried she decided to find out what was going on.

Edging toward the kitchen area where the talking was coming from Hilary listened curiously

"No I just couldn't sleep so I thought I'd call now..., No I know. My grandfather will not like this….. No I am quite willing to do what is necessary." For a little while he was silent but Hilary could see him nodding silently agreeing with what the other person was saying. "Very well. One thing, I have decided to set something up in the north of England…..No I don't think that is necessary…. I have someone in mind and I will make the necessary arrangements." He hung up and sighed running a hand through his hair, Hilary watched as he stood shoulders hunched his finger drumming angrily on the countertop.

Just as silently as she had come Hilary moved away and went back to bed, removing the bathrobe and lying down she thought about what she had seen. She wished she could say something, tell him something that would ease his mind but she knew that Kai wouldn't want anyone to see him like this. He was tired and he wasn't sleeping well the last thing he would want right now was for…..

She sat bolt upright

Kai wasn't sleeping well!

Jumping from her bed she headed into the sitting room, this time the lamp was on and Kai was on the couch with a book in his hand.

"You should be asleep" he said not even bothering to look up

"So should you, Kai, why aren't you asleep?"

"I just couldn't sleep..." Suddenly he sat up realising what that meant "Oh shit"

"You've been tired today?" Hilary aksed trying not to allow the fear and panic she was feeling take over her body.

For a split second Kai almost lied to her, the look in her eyes made him feel so guilty but he knew that she would want the truth, he knew that he owed her the truth "Exhausted" he admitted

"And you never thought that maybe…." she trailed off sounding upset

"I just didn't realise…" unable to believe how stupid he felt Kai sighed and held his head in his hands "Damn it!!"

"No" Hilary shook her head trying to stop herself from crying "not you, not so soon!"

"Hils I was the first receive the treatment"

"You were also the last one to show any symptoms, how can this be moving on so quickly?"

"I don't know, maybe we're all working this though our systems at different speeds, we all have different tolerance levels especially when it comes to alcohol," Kai stood and shrugged "I guess my body is going to go through the stages quicker, I could enter stage three anytime now" he laughed trying to pretend he didn't care

"Don't joke about this!" Hilary yelled as she pointed a finger at him no longer caring about keeping a hold on her emotions or bothering to keep her voice down "Don't you dare laugh!"

Kai smiled sorrowfully at her "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you so upset."

"We need to call Renaldo" Hilary tried to sound normal but the tears running down her face showed Kai how badly she was taking this. As the tears fell down her cheeks and dripped on her shirt Kai walked forward and using his thumbs brushed them away.

"I'll call him" he pulled his phone from his pocket and began to dial "it'll be OK" he promised wrapping a comforting arm around her trembling shoulders and dropping a kiss on her head neither of them finding anything odd in this action. They both just accepted it as normal practice for when you find out a friend is dying because the robotics in his body are slowly killing him.

And who was to say they were wrong?

* * *

Ok that was quite a long one, thanks so much for reading!

Please Review


	32. Stalkers and Hackers

Hello again my lovely readers, I had a panicky moment tonight when I tried to upload and my computer went all funny. I hope this all comes out OK because I really just want to get on with the next chapter. (and you all want that too right?)

I'm afraid my next updates may be on the slow side next week I have a funeral to go to and lets face it that doesn't make for cheerful writing does it? I may get really depressed and kill them all off!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

Grimacing in pain as a needle was taken out of his arm Kai sat on the bed feeling annoyed, he hated hospitals and it seemed like these days he was spending all his time in a hospital like environment. He rolled his eyes as Brady produced yet another needle this time it was filled with medication. If this continued he have more holes than a sieve, he's end up like those cartoon chracters who took a drink only to have it spill through the holes in his chest. Then again that was scientifically impossible, why the hell did cartoons show that when any child could tell you it would never happen?

"This is the Rooksen solution" Brady told Kai interrupting his rather odd train of thought as he stuck a needle into his arm and injected a vibrant substance into the Blitzkrieg Boy.

"What does it do exactly?" Kai asked naturally curious as to what was being put into his veins

"It's a treatment to slow down the process" Brady explained "the only important thing is to make sure you use the right amounts. If you use the right amount it helps to keep the cybernetics powered just enough to keep you alive and helps your body cope with the changes"

"I'm not sure I want to know but what happens if you use the wrong amount?"

Brady didn't answer Kai's question straight away, he pulled the needle from Kai's arm and carefully pressed a pad to where the needle had penetrated. After carefully cleaning away the drop of blood he looked up at the blader. Finally he answered.

"Giving the cybernetics too much could cause them to increase in aggression they'd course through your system and go through the stages at a hell of a speed. It's like chemotherapy, it helps but it needs to be very carefully monitored in terms of amounts. Don't worry though we keep a careful watch on these things"

"Good to know" Kai nodded as he looked down uneasily at the now empty needle.

"You do know that you can't battle today, you have to leave it to the others" Renaldo told Kai his face showing the concern he had for his friend.

Brady still standing by the bed had privately expressed real apprehension that Kai had moved on so quickly, he had also suggested hospitalising Kai permanently. The only reason why Renaldo had not told Kai all of this was because he knew how he would react. He knew that Kai would simply roll his eyes and maybe hit Renaldo before doing exactly whatever the hell he wanted. The only reason he was telling the stern bluenette not to beyblade was because he knew how much an intense beybattle would take out of Kai. Renaldo knew quite a bit about how far Kai would go to win (he wasn't at the abbey for nothing!) and he knew that Kai wouldn't worry about his own physical condition until the battle was over.

"I'm going to battle today there's nothing you can do or say that will stop me"

"Kai" Brady stared at him "you're at a later stage than even Tala now, you could enter stage three at any point, if you play you'll be exhausted and your body might just give up!"

"I'm playing" Kai crossed his arms and leant back onto the bed, in two hours time he and his team were due to play. There was no way he was missing it

"Fine" Renaldo shouted heading for the door "but just so you know, you play today, you'll exhaust yourself and you'll probably die tomorrow"

"I'm fine" Kai shrugged casually

"Come on Brady he doesn't care, by the way if you die Kai I'm making sure they play Celine Dion at your funeral" Angry and not bothering to hide it Renaldo led the scientist from the room. As they walked out he winked at the young brunette going in. She had heard everything and he wouldn't be at all surprised if she could get Kai to stay where he was.

"How is he?" Hilary asked not bothering to look into the room

"He's **FINE**!" Renaldo told her raising his eyebrows as he mimicked Kai, Hilary giggled and went into the room

"Renaldo's right you know, plus I think Celine Dion would be great at the funeral, maybe a little Bryan Addams as well"

"Hils" Kai groaning turned to see her standing in the doorway hands on hips and looking stern "Don't you start."

"I don't have to" Hilary grinned at him "I've already told Mr D that you are too ill to play"

"How dare you!" livid Kai stood and stalked towards her "How could you do that to me? You know what this means to me, you know how much I need to play? God Hilary I can never trust you again, you're the most annoying, bossy….,"

**SLAP**

Hilary eyes wider than she had ever thought possible stared at Kai just as shocked as he was at what she had done but she refused to show it. For a second they both just stood there trying to understand what had just happened between them.

"Kai..." she gulped trying to steady her voice "Kai, you are one of the few people in my life right now that I trust, I don't care if you never trust me again but I am going to do everything in my power to keep you alive. So go, sit on that bed, let the nurse take a blood sample and do not even try to leave this building till I say you can."

Without waiting for him to say anything she just walked away. Anger was boiling up inside of her and she couldn't believe how crazy she felt right now. Kai was making her make unwise decisions and she knew that if she stayed around much longer she might do something worse than slapping him….., she might kiss him again.

Following her instructions to the letter Kai walked back into the room and sat on the bed. He knew his team could probably manage without him but it killed him to not be there.

A pretty young nurse walked into the room and took the blood sample, Kai sat saying nothing, he just allowed the woman to do her job and resisted the urge to insult her. When she left he thought he would be alone for a while and was surprised when the nurse walked back in pushing a trolley with a TV on it into the room.

"What's going on?" Kai asked curious

"Miss Tatibana asked us to bring this in here so you can see the tournament games"

Grateful but refusing to show it Kai nodded and took the remote control in his hand waiting to be alone before he switched the TV on. He knew that the tournament wasn't for a little while yet but he was bored out of his skull just sitting there. He channel hopped for a few minutes until a news item caught his eye,

"News from the sporting world now, Hilary Tatibana of the Blade breakers," Kai was amused for a second it didn't seem to matter to the news team that Hilary didn't play they just accepted her as part of the team. Just like the blade breakers always had "Mariah Wong of the White Tigers, Millicent Davis of Team thunderbolt and an as yet unidentified female were chased in their car by what has been assumed was a vicious group of fans. It has been known for some time that Hilary obtained a rather attentive fan last year and it would appear that he has struck again. This stalker was rumoured to be the reason as to why Hilary was not present at the beginning of the tournament."

Kai furrowed his brow as he listened to the story, it confused him. Known for some time that Hilary had a stalker? Hilary stayed away because of said stalked?

"Quite a good spin don't you think?" Kai turned to find Renaldo leaning in the doorway

"Spin?"

"Well Hilary couldn't tell the world that Boris was back and had attempted to kidnap her because she's working on a cure for the illness that's killing you. So she made up that story and gave it to the press"

"Well where did this stalker thing come from?"

"Oh she did have one, apparently it was quite a while back, but she said he was quite sweet really and she managed to sort it all out. She asked him if she could use the old letters to get the press off her back."

"She had a stalker and sorted it all out?" Kai asked dubiously, "On her own?"

"Yes she met him talked it through with him, turns out he had a lot of issues. She convinced him they weren't mean to be together but she keeps in touch with him from time to time and last time she spoke to him he was actually dating a nice but somewhat quirky redhead."

"She's still in touch with him?"

"Yeah!" Renaldo nodded as though staying in touch with your stalker was the most natural thing in the world "You know, christmas cards, Birthday cards, the occasional email"

"She met him?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"How could she do something so **stupid**?" Kai stared at the television where grainy pictures of the chase flickered across the screen

"I don't know" Renaldo grinned amused at his concern "but it was a while ago there's nothing to worry about now!"

"Nevertheless I'm going to have to have a word with her about it, how stupid to put yourself in danger like that"

"I know! It's almost as stupid as wanting to beyblade even though it could kill you" Renaldo nodded with mock seriousness "yeah she's a **real** worry. I'll leave it to you to talk some sense into her!"

"Shut up!" Kai hissed angrily, he hated to be made fun of and Renaldo seemed to be very good at doing that these days

Laughing at Kai's now disgruntled face Renaldo slipped out of the door and almost collided with Kai's nurse walking down the corridor "Oh I do apologise, but I have to say you're pretty enough to make just about any guy feel clumsy"

"Quit flirting" instinctively Kai yelled out, causing Renaldo and the nurse to laugh loudly.

--

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Horatio stood his hand on a mans throat holding his choking victim up against the wall, his intense anger strengthened him to the point where Boris actually felt afraid.

"Look…" Voltaire tried to placate his friend

"Don't you bloody start" Horatio hissed not taking his eyes off the man cowering in his grasp "You told him to abduct her"

"She had the book" Voltaire explained causing Horatio to loosen his grip allowing a gasping Boris to fall to the floor "we saw that she had it when she left the hotel and now she's given it to someone else. We needed to know who."

"She knows then" Horatio sank into the nearest chair his left hand covering his eyes as he sighed heavily "She knows everything"

"We need to know who she gave the book to"

"It doesn't matter now" Boris told them still massaging his throat as he spoke "we have a fairly good idea of who the car belongs to and we know that he helped Ianto when Brady and his family escaped" he choked a little sending Voltaire an angry glare

"Who?" both men enquired

"Renaldo Travis. He's a former abbey student who managed to do quite well for himself in the leisure industry. He was instrumental in the prosecutions case against you Voltaire"

"I remember him, the only person that we never broke" Voltaire smiled leaning back against the wall nostalgically reminiscing "I always wondered what happened to him."

"So they have found a wealthy ally?" Horatio stood and moved over to his desk he looked down at the two photos he had there, one was of his wedding day a black and white photo in a silver frame, the other was of his granddaughter on her last birthday. Hilary was the only family member asides from his long dead wife that had ever earned herself a place on his desk. Picking up her picture he looked at it holding it up to his face as though trying to mentally communicate with her.

"Horatio?"

"Alright" Horatio sighed looking away from the photograph "from now on we do what we need to. It doesn't matter what happens but remember what we need. If the Blitzkrieg boys survive and we can't study their bodies we need Hilary alive and well."

"Yes sir" Boris nodded smirking.

Horatio took one last look at the picture before he opened up the desk drawer and carefully placed the photo inside.

--

"Surely that's wrong" Hilary pointed out to Brady, "the information there doesn't tally" the two of them were sitting at a desk comparing the information she had received from Kenny about Tala's first battle to the data they had received from the samples they had just been provided with.

"I can't believe I missed that"

"You're probably just tired" Hilary told him "After all we've been doing this all morning and almost all last night as well."

"So we have" he chuckled lightly as he stretched

"And you must be missing your wife" Hilary questioned the man "Maybe she and your son could come here? Where are they?"

Uncomfortable but trying not to show it Brady looked at the clock "Aren't you supposed to be leaving soon?"

"Damn" Hilary looked down at her watch "I was supposed to leave a few minutes ago, I better go see Kai before I leave"

"Is he still here?" Brady sounded surprised "I thought he was intent on leaving?"

"I think he might still be here" smiling Hilary picked up her notebook and made her way to the door "I'll see you later Uncle Brady"

"Good bye Hilary" after she had gone the man buried his head in his hands and sighed doing all this was going to be harder than he thought. He carefully rewrote the information correctly this time.

--

"Hi Kai" Hilary walked into his room and smiled "How did the match go?"

"They won" he sounded despondent.

For a second Hilary wondered if he was feeling annoyed that his team could win without him but she quickly banished that idea from her head. She looked at him carefully, his eyes were sad and he stood just staring out of the window. No, for once she couldn't read him, for once she couldn't just look at him and know what he was thinking and feeling.

"What's wrong?"

"They won but they didn't look good, Tala didn't play it was just the other three but they looked tired and Ian left the stadium suddenly after his match with his hand in his pockets. I think he was bleeding."

"They're all ill" Hilary sighed "Please Kai let me take you all out of this competition, I know…"

"No" Kai was determined as he stared out the window not wanting to look at her "we can do this"

"I'm not gonna lie to you, we aren't making any real progress here" Hilary told him with complete honesty

"Have you told the others about this?"

"Not yet"

"Then don't tell them" Kai exhaled heavily "that's not something they need to hear right now."

"Should I not have told you?"

"I'm glad you told me" finally Kai turned to look at her, she looked exhausted and he felt guilty remembering that while he had gotten some medically induced sleep she had been working all night "And I'm sorry about what I said before"

Hilary nodded neither of them made a move towards each other though they both wanted to, they just stood looking at each other finally Hilary spoke up

"Well I have to get back to the hotel, we're travelling to Russia next week there's lots to do."

"When will you be back?" Kai didn't mean to sound so desperate and he cursed himself for it but Hilary didn't seem to notice as she looked down at her watch

"Later, sometime tonight I guess. Will you stay here so Renaldo can monitor your condition?" she sounded careless and vague

"Do I have to?" he asked trying to get a rise out of her, hoping that she's stop sounding so businesslike and be more Hilarylike

"Yes" Hilary's answer was short and as he looked up he could see that she was still hurt by his words from earlier

"Then I'll stay." he decided Hilary nodded and walked out of the room not even bothering to say goodbye as she left.

Lying back on his bed Kai knew he had blown it this time, usually when he and Hilary had a fight it would take mere minutes for everything to be back to normal but this time she was really upset. Taking out his phone Kai made a phone call.

--

It was midnight when Hilary finally returned to the lab, she checked on Kai and found that he was sleeping aided by some tablets from Brady. In the room next to Kai Tala had joined the ovenight research team and was being carefully monitored. Hilary had made her way from their rooms to join the group studying the data, she was welcomed by a sombre silence.

She looked at them even the normally cheerful Renaldo was grave and uncommunicative "What's wrong?"

"The problem is that this info doesn't match exactly" One of the scientist challenged looking at Brady "is there any chance that they altered the cybernetics without your knowledge?"

"I don't know" Brady shrugged helplessly "I guess it's a possibility."

"We've got no real way of knowing though." someone sighed

"If they altered the system in any way it means everything we're doing here is pointless." another scientist told Hilary

"So we need to find out if they did" Hilary informed the group

"How? The only way to do that is to look through their information" Brady argued, "and there's no way of really doing that without some serious computer hacking"

"I thought I was in a room filled with geniuses here?"

"Yes but none of us really know that much about computers ang navigating through secure systems, we're all into micro science and biology!"

"I have an idea I think I know who to call"

"At this hour?"

Hilary grinned as she put her phone to her ear "Oh yeah at this hour!"

--

Running on the treadmill Millie was surprised when her phone started to ring, not slowing for a second the blonde grabbed the phone and lifted it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Millie!"

"Hey Hils what's up?"

"I really hate to embroil you with all this any more than you already have been but…" Hilary paused obviously rethinking involving the younger girl

"Hilary if this has anything to do with getting even with the guys that hurt Tia I don't mind helping depending that it isn't too illegal" Millie told her panting slightly as still running she took a drink from her water bottle

Hilary was unsure for a second, actually what she was going to ask of the girl was severely illegal "Um well...Look Tia once told me about a cousin of hers who could hack her way into any computer system in the world!"

"Yeah I can do that" Millie grinned feeling a little pleased but also a little annoyed that Tia had told Hilary all this "but I'm not really supposed to, it is really illegal and you can end up…"

"Millie, I need you to go wake Kenny as well, the two of you need to do this." there was a contemplative silence as Millie tried to decide what to do, at her end Hilary was silently praying as she sais "please this is life and death"

"It always is these days" hitting a button on her treadmill Millie slowed to a stop and wiped her forehead with her towel "Ok send us a car"

"I love you, you know that right?"

"Yeah I know. See you in a bit" Millie sighed as she left the gym, she would have to go wake Kenny before she did anything else.

--

"Here we go!" Kenny yelled as he and Millie sat in the lab typing away at the computers, the team of scientists who had all een standing around waiting immediately gathered around the computer.

"Oh my god guys" Hilary exclaimed looking at the screen "you just got into Tatibana Inc.'s private files! You completely stormed their firewall" Hilary watched amazed as Millie's fingers dashed over the keyboard

"You make it sound like it was difficult" Millie grinned even wider as she opened up the files she needed.

"They have over fifty security systems"

"Only fifty?" Kenny laughed looking over at his fellow hacker

"And about a million password combinations"

"I know, it's like they want people to break in!" Millie winked at Kenny who smiled back

"Kenny I always knew you were amazing and Millie you are a genius" Hilary laughed "never again will I make or laugh at dumb blonde jokes!"

"Hey I think I found something about what we need" Millie clicked onto a file opening it up "Hang on!" Millie continued to tap out a storm on the keyboard while the scientists and Hilary watched. "Here we are!" Millie cried triumphantly Kenny swung his chair around so he was beside her and looked at the screen.

"Yeah that's it!"

"Where are we exactly?" Renaldo asked looking at the computer sounding unsure

"Ok well I've managed to access the files they have about their experiments in Russia"

"What do they say?"

"It looks like they've deleted most of it, and the rest of it they're trying to hide." Kenny bit his thumb nervously

"**Trying **to hide?" Hilary asked hopefully

"Yes trying, but they aren't succeeding, give us another minute" the two of them continued to work this time on the same computer

Renaldo and Hilary exchanged glances, neither of them knew the first thing about computers really. "Wait till I tell Tia about this" Hilary grinned

"I don't know if that's a good idea" Millie looked up nervously "My cousins don't like me hacking, they say it'll get me into trouble."

"Well what we're doing is sort of illegal!" Kenny agreed smiling as he continued typing "but it's always good to practice these things you never know when it'll come in useful, after all these guys need us to break the law right now"

"Just a bit" Renaldo agreed cheerfully "I wonder how many years we might get for this?"

"It's our first offence" Hilary said with mock solemnity "and it's my family's company so they may not charge us to the full extent of the law"

"Your first offence, it'll be my third"

"Third?" Hilary stared at the innocent looking Millie

"The first time was a mistake, I accidentally accessed the national defence system back home in the US, they let me off with a warning" moving closer to the screen Millie tapped out a few phrases

"Easily done, as long as you don't mess around to much they don't even know you're there!" not noticing the looks he was getting Kenny shrugged as he hit a few buttons on the keyboard "And the second time?"

"My friend was dating this guy he was kind of a jerk so I checked his criminal record, he was wanted and I kind of helped bring him in so I just got another warning for both cases I was a minor so it didn't ever go to court. Next time though I will probably get thrown in jail"

"Ok, no wonder your cousins don't like you hacking." Hilary looked nervously at the computer, "are you gonna be found this time?"

"Nope" Kenny shook his head cheerfully "I've got that covered over on that computer no one will be able to trace us. We could do this forever and they wouldn't know we were in here."

"Oh my god" Millie muttered "Hilary look at this"

* * *

Please R&R


	33. Electric cures

Oh my god guys thank you so much for the reviews, I have tried to respond to them all but my connection was a little off tonight and I had to renew my ip adress (whatever that means). Ok here is the next chapter I hope to put up the next one soon but it may be the end of the week before I get round to it. I have to write it you know!

Thnaks for the extra encouragement starShinobi

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"Wait a second Millie" Kenny broke in printing off a load of stuff "I think I found what they are looking for."

Soon the printer was shooting out page after page of text and diagrams. Everyone surged forward unintentionally ignoring the timid blonde who sat staring at her computer not sure how and if she should get everyones attention.

"I don't believe this" Hilary muttered as she stared down at what Kenny had printed off "It's such a mess"

"There no way we can do anything with this lot" Brady muttered his eyes wide as he read the same thing she read "who the hell could have made such a system?"

"Whoever they were they knew nothing about micro science" one of the scientists laughed derisively

"Hilary, what I wanted to show you before. What does this mean?" Millie asked pointing to the screen

"Read it out" Hilary told her still looking at the papers in her hand

"Ok…." Millie paused before clearing her throat "In the case of the first test subject, test subject 1 died with ease a post mortem revealed the first of our problems. It would appear that the cybernetics were too strong, we changed this. In the case of our second test subject the death was more drawn out a post mortem…"

"Wait" Hilary moved forward to look at the screen "what do they mean the death? Brady? Did they do it on….?" she trailed off not really wanting to ask the question or know the answer

Knowing what she wanted to ask Brady nodded "They did it on purpose" Brady confirmed "the only reason the Blitzkrieg boys are still alive is because Voltaire was arrested. They put in a system called the second brain, I always said it was a bad idea,"

"Why?" Hilary asked

"There were many problems. This system was to make sure that anyone who tried to escape would have to come back. They would let someone with the cybernetics in their system escape then activate the second brain and see what happened. The first test subject died within minutes, the second test subject….."

"Person!" Hilary cut in angrily "the second person. Don't make them seem less important or make their deaths less wrong and tragic by calling them a test subject!"

"Sorry," Brady shook his head "The thing is it never worked we couldn't control the system. We could never stop them dying no matter how soon they came back. they used the post mortem as a test for what went wrong. That means that they probably want you're friends dead"

"If it was impossible to cure why are we even here? What can we do?" Hilary asked feeling helpless

"That was all before the Rooksen solution, I developed it after Voltaire was imprisoned a few years before I escaped, they never even knew of it, before that there was nothing we could do. Now there is a chance…."

"Only a chance?" Hilary sounded crushed

"Hilary we will help them, that's why we're here"

"And while we're doing that my Grandfather, Horatio and Boris want them dead and will do anything to make them that way."

"And that's why I'm here" said Renaldo placing a hand on her shoulder. Hilary just shook her head she was trying not to cry and knew that if she said anything she would start immediately.

"We better get everyone together" Kenny whispered "they're gonna want to hear all this"

--

Everyone had gathered at Hilary's request, the old Blade Breaker team, the Blitzkrieg Boys and Mariah were listening to Hilary as she grouped them together to hear what Millie and Kenny had discovered.

"It would appear that the Cybernetics have what is called a second brain system, the aim of this system was to ensure that if you started to disobey orders it would be activated and you would have to return for treatment."

"But we broke free from them years ago!" Bryan exclaimed "why has it taken so long to start up?"

"From the notes we have here I was able to see that the second brain system never worked" Millie explained as she handed out some pages she had printed off "they discovered that the system would malfunction and just go off whenever it was affected by something unusual. Then there were certain things that meant they were unable to stop it, if it was set off by certain chemicals there was no way of stopping it and the test subjects just died. Something you five were exposed to at some point started all this. If we could find out what started them off we may be able to find a way to stop them"

"But what were all five of us exposed to? I mean I know that we're a team but we don't do everything together" Tala argued

"It could have been started last year or last month for all we know" Millie told him "The second system is so complex that it could take ages for them to start and then for the symptoms to manifest themselves"

"But if Boris is following them wanting to know about their symptoms, maybe he started it off" Max piped up

"Th-that's a good idea, but as far as we can tell they never learnt to control it" Millie smiled shyly at the blonde as she said this "The controlling of the system is theoretically impossible."

"But there must have been something to start Boris on their trail again" Tyson agreed with Max "I mean no one but the people in this building really know that they are having these symptoms. There has to be a reason why he's following them now."

"Like I said before" Millie shrugged helplessly "we don't know how long he's even following you!"

Is there anything you five all did that was unusual?" Kenny asked as he looked over the data Hilary had put before them. "Something electrical, or chemical or magnetic, or psyco…."

"Or Magnetic!" Millie jumped to her feet "That's it!"

"Sorry not following?" Spencer raised a hand

"Last year you lot were injured during the last battle of the championships right?" Millie asked

"Right" Bryan confirmed

"And we all went to hospital for check ups…." Mariah also stood up as she carried on, understanding what Millie meant

"The MRI machine" Hilary jumped up "Bryan went through it and it malfunctioned got stuck, you all ran in it's like a giant magnet, something like that would seriously screw with such a delicate system"

"It was in the papers so Boris and the others would have known there was a chance that the system had been started, after all like Millie said we don't know how long he's been following you" Mariah went on

"Add the magnetic factor to the second brain system" Millie walked toward Hilary smiling "And boom" Millie clapped her hands "you have detonation"

"The reactant" Hilary yelled

"Basically the 'on' switch"

"And the reason Boris is on the prowl!" The three girls all laughed and began to hug each other

"Ohhhh" Kenny looked like he was the only one who understood what was going on "I get it!"

"I'm glad one of us does" Tyson muttered as the three girls threw themselves into their chairs laughing happily

"OK so now we know how it started and how Boris knows that it started, how does that help exactly?" Tala asked rationally

"Well it helps us decide how to turn those things inside you off, let me just have a look through the lists here" Millie began typing away at her computer again "Hilary do you remember…. Hilary are you OK?"

"Not really" Hilary stood up and started looking frantically through the papers by the computer "if it was magnetic then…." she paused holding a page in her hand, her whole face had fallen and she looked as though she was going to cry.

"What is it?" Tyson asked concerned

"If it was magnetic then the only way to stop all this is to shutdown the cybernetics completely"

"And what's wrong with that?" Tala asked nervously not liking the look on her face

"There are two kind of big problems, one, there is no way of shutting it down completely, and two, and this is the clincher, it could kill you!"

--

"So there's nothing you can do?" Tia lay in her bed watching as Hilary paced up and down the room, the brunette had come to visit and begun crying almost straight away. Now the tears were all gone and anger had taken over Hilary couldn't seem to sit still

"Nothing, Nothing at all!"

"Please stop pacing you're driving me crazy" Tia begged

Hilary looked guilty as she finally threw herself down into the chair beside the bed "I can't seem to stop thinking about how I can't even trust my own grandfather, you remember how much I loved him when I was a kid. There is so much that needs doing and... and I slapped him"

"Ok?" Tia looked at her and frowned "last time you declared 'I kissed him' you were talking about Kai, am I to assume that you slapped Kai?"

"He called me bossy and annoying because I wanted him to rest instead of playing!"

"Then he deserved it! You're turning into a zombie slaving over all this work, I don't want to even ask when you last slept and he has the nerve to insult you! I can't believe he said that to you, I'm gonna hit him myself!"

"It's true, I am bossy and annoying, you all must think it sometimes"

"Yeah but we all agreed that we'd never tell you about it!" Tia grinned as Hilary stuck her tongue out at her

"If you weren't in hospital I'd hit you. I just wish I knew what to do, we have absolutely no options now"

Tia pursed her lips and blew at the strand of her hair falling over her face "You said you could shut down the cybernites and that might work"

"But there's no way of shutting them down! And anyway it could kill them"

"Is there any way you could use an EMP" Tia asked her avoiding her friends eyes

"A what?" Hilary turned to look at Tia completely astonished "Isn't that like a from an explosion or bomb or something?"

"Oh no" Tia rubbed the bridge of her nose muttering "how to explain, how to explain? Alright there are two types of EMP one is from a nuclear weapon but for the other you can just create a broadband, high-intensity, short-duration burst of electromagnetic energy. It turns off everything within a certain radius, depending of course on how strong you make it. A small burst like that would fry the cybernetics to such an extent they would be completely destroyed"

"I love it when you talk all technical" Hilary laughed jokingly

"I know sexy huh?" Tia smiled raising her eyebrows as she leaned back

"I still don't get why you decided to be a dancer and not a scientist"

"I think I'll let Millie be the genius of the family, although mum will be pleased when she finds out my dancing career is ruined" Tia looked mournfully down at the bed where her legs were hidden by the sheets

"I never understand why your mum made you take dancing classes and them said you couldn't be a dancer" Hilary tried to distract her friend

"Me either" Tia shrugged forcing a smile onto her face "I don't look forward to telling her about all this"

"You still haven't told her?"

"She knows I'm hurt but she doesn't know my career is over. I can't bear to tell her, she'll do her 'I told you so bit'! She even has an 'I told you so' dance, ironically enough. But anyway stop changing the subject, back to the EMP thing" She glared at Hilary who faltered under her gaze.

"I...I can't...it would...Tia it could ki…." Hilary started helplessly stumbling over her words like an idiot

"I KNOW! I know you said it would kill them but think of it as a last resort. An EMP would be your final option, if you were to set off an electro magnetic pulse it would short the systems. It turns off all electricity within a certain area and that would definitely shut it down. The only problem of course is that with the electricity down life support or defibrillators..."

"No" Hilary was determined "it could shut down their cybernetics entirely, sure it would destroy the things but they would probably die from the shock to their system"

"Hilary" Tia leant forward and taking her friends hand looked directly into her eyes "from what you said if the Blitzkrieg Boys die the 'bad guys' could use the information from the things in their bodies to try the experiments again and maybe be successful this time"

"Yeah" Hilary nodded not quite understanding what Tia was getting at

"So talk to them, at least give them the option. The EMP would destroy the technology and mean that Voltaire and Horatio could never use the bodies, they might care more about that than their own safety."

--

Renaldo sat with the Blitzkrieg Boys after talking with the scientists they had spent the day being examined and were now all sitting uncomfortably in the lab wearing white hospital gowns

"You boys look good" Renaldo entered the room running his hand through his dark hair

"Why is everything always a joke to you?" Tala groaned, Renaldo's cheerfulness was beginning to get him down.

"Just trying to lighten the mood"

"Easy for you to do, your not the one dying" Ian groused

"Sorry" there was an uncomfortable silence as they all sat trying not to think about what was likely to happen. "Brady feels really bad about all this"

"It's not really his fault though, he just wanted to help people" Spencer shrugged "he's kinda like us just got promised something by Voltaire and believed it would be a good thing"

"Whats the deal with Brady anyway?" Bryan asked

"What do you mean?" Renaldo was surprised by the question

"Well every now and then I hear him muttering about his wife and kid, under his breath he starts whispering about how they better still be OK"

"That's odd" Ian nodded "but I've also heard him go on about something called plan A"

"Plan A?" Tala looked confused "I wonder what that was,"

"I'll talk to him later" Renaldo shrugged "but it can't be all that important if he hasn't mentioned it to me"

--

Hilary returned to the lab looking tired and upset, doing the maths she was able to work out that she had been awake for almost forty eight hours now and at this rate soon she could probably fall asleep standing up.

Inside the large building her circle of friends were all there, part of her was relieved she needed them all there for when she told them what she and Tia had argued over for hours

"Any ideas?"

"I have a sort of theory…."

"Well?"

"It's too risky" Hilary shook her head and looked over to where Kai was standing looking very annoyed at the poking and prodding the scientists were doing. "I don't want to hurt them."

"Just tell me your theory we're running out of options here." the female scientist stared at her

Inhaling sharply Hilary looked around "EMP, if we were to set off an electro magnetic pulse it would short the systems, the cybernetics would just stop working. The thing is…."

"If we were to just fry the cybernetics it would mean that they stopped working completely, unfortunately their systems may now be dependant on those things. If they were to just stop working…." Brady shook his head

"It means shutting down the systems completely, and we all know what that means"

"Death" Tala filled in "I know you can be cruel, but maybe we ought to try something else!" The niece and uncle turned to find the Blitzkrieg boys standing behind them

"Tala" Hilary grinned at him "I'm not **that **bad waxing your legs is one thing, besides it was Tia who suggested EMP"

"I should have known" Tala muttered darkly

"You waxed their legs?" Renaldo grinned as he reiterated his statement from the night they first met "Oh I just love you"

"Kai helped" Hilary smiled up at him surprised to find that he for some reason looked very annoyed "are you OK Kai?"

"I'm Fine!" Kai told them, immediately Renaldo and Hilary exchanged glances and burst out laughing remembering his imitation from earlier

"What did we miss?" Ian asked as he looked at them

"Nothing, nothing" Renaldo told him, then he turned to Brady "Got any idea's?"

"Tell me something" Kai cut in looking serious "if we use this EMP thing, and we die, will Voltaire still be able to make use of the information the cybernetics have gathered? Would they be able to make the attempt again?"

"Tia thinks he wouldn't find anything, and she knows about these things." Hilary shook her head realising that Tia had read the situation correctly, Kai and the others cared more about stopping the evil men behind all this than about their own safety "with the cybernites shut down that way there would be nothing left to analyse."

--

Hilary sat with an unusually cheerful Hiro and a happy Mr Dickenson, she however felt very despondent, they were to travel to Russia sooner than expected and Hilary knew that there was no way the Blitzkrieg boys would be in a fit state to travel

"Is there no way we could delay it?" she pleaded trying not to sound as desperate as she really was

"I'm afraid not and I don't really see why we should need to" the older man smiled happily "everything's been running swimmingly since you returned and we need to continue with the competition as soon as possible!"

"I agree with Mr D" Hiro nodded "besides we only put back the date of the Russian tournaments because of what was going on in America, we were getting delayed but now we've caught up the tournament should be headed back to Japan in no time!"

"Exactly!" Mr Dickenson rubbed his hands together and chuckled "well I must be going I'll see you kids later"

"Ok" Hilary nodded as Mr Dickenson left the room, "see you later"

"I'm over twenty, married, have a child of my own, and he still calls me a kid!" Hiro sounded sullen as he said this

"I guess you still are to him" Hilary smiled distractedly

"Do you want to tell me why you don't want to go to Russia?" Hiro studied Hilary carefully as she answered

"No real reason, Tia's still in hospital here…."

"You're lying!" Hiro was amused to see her look so angry that he had caught her out "when you lie you're eyes give you away, they immediately glance away from the person you're lying to, and I know Tia is out of hospital soon she could come with us and Mr D is more than willing to let her use the private plane."

"Right, well I gotta learn to lie better" Hilary began to cry "it's all going wrong Hiro, the Blitzkrieg boys are….are, well they're"

"Ill?" Hilary looked up surprised so he continued "It's not hard to see Hilary, though they have been winning they aren't up to their usual standard. And now you them and your old team plus Millie and Mariah for some unknown reason, keep disappearing. It is obvious that something is going on. And now you're going around looking like you haven't slept in a week"

"They're dying" Hilary whispered "they're all ill with something Boris and Voltaire and my grandfather put inside of them"

"**Your **grandfather?" Hiro cut in but Hilary just waved the enquiry aside

"It isn't important now, I'm helping to find a cure but the only theory we have could kill them and I can't…." Hilary sighed "Well I might as well tell you...I also recently discovered that I have feelings for Kai and I can't lose him. The real reason Tia is in hospital is because we were chased by Boris and one of his man stabbed her, a man died right outside this hotel all because of all this."

"I see" Hiro nodded "Hilary why didn't you come to me? I would have…"

"I know" Hilary nodded "but you have Arelam and Robin to consider, I have already been the cause of one persons death and because of all this Tia lost her whole career. I can't get you involved, you have to much to lose"

"Arelam and I aren't the perfect couple you seem to think we are, she won't even talk to me today"

"No but you could lose her with all this and I don't mean a divorce or separation, I mean a death. And I know you Hiro, you do love her but the reason she's probably so mad at the moment is because you forgot something important" Hilary smirked at him as he looked at her confused.

"What? What did I forget?" he asked cluelessly

"It's her birthday." Hilary grinned as Hiro's expression changed dramatically

Hiro sat back in his chair and covered his face with his hands "Oh damn it! I was so busy with the tournament and trying to work out what was going on…."

"Don't worry too much, Millie has said she'll baby-sit tonight and I got one of the receptionists arranged a meal I'm not sure where but it's a nice place. All you have to do is go buy her a nice present, Hiro you are the worst husband ever. But luckily for you she will never find out"

Hiro gave her a relieved smile "You've always got my back huh?"

"And everyone else's!"

--

With an angry yell Max launched his beyblade allowing it to riccochet off the wall of the now converted warehouse. He was angry and kept attacking the wall trying to rid himself of some of the frustration he felt

"Keep doing that and you'll bring the building down"

"Millie?" Max turned surprised and in doing so took his attention off his beyblade, Draciel went hurtling towards a window,

Quick as a flash Millie launched her own beyblade and knocked Max's off course.

"Thanks" Max caught Draciel and grinned sheepishly

"No... no problem" the shyness she usually felt around boys had come back and Millie's cheeks took on a slightly pink shade. "But you really ought to be more careful! You've got some real power going on there you could damage the wall badly."

"Thanks, you're not too bad yourself"

"You must be feeling down about Kai"

"Yeah" Max nodded

"I know how you feel! When I had to wait to hear about Tia I felt like my world was coming to an end, I only just got her back!"

"Only just got her back?" Max enquired looking at her inquisitively

"I didn't mean...! It's nothing!" Millie shrugged it off

"No it's not" Max moved towards her concerned "want to talk about it?"

"No" shaking her head the young girl smiled at her companion "it's not my secret its hers and I'm not going to do anything that might betray her trust"

"Ok" Max could see she was upset and wanted to distract her "hey want to practice?"

"Sure! This way I'll stop you from bringing down the walls!"

They were both about to launch when Tala appeared around the corner

"Hey Millie?"

"Hiya Tala" she turned grinning at him "Max and I were about to practice"

"Sorry but Kenny needs you back inside" Tala looked over at Max grinning slyly "you mind if I steal her away Max?"

"No" Max shook his head trying to hide his disappointment at the interruption, he turned to Millie smiling "Maybe later? I'm in suite 214 if you want to call around?" he offered up eagerly

"Definitely" Millie nodded her face slightly pink, Tala gave her a speculative look as they walked away

"Is there a particular reason as to why he's the only boy you still blush around?" Tala teased as he and Millie walked back inside

"No!" she protested her face growing redder as she placed her hands on her cheeks trying to hide her blushes "Max is just a friend!"

"**SURE**!"

--

Hilary walked down the corridor towards Kai's room, against her better judgement she had returned to the hotel to work on the travel details moving the tournament to Russia. It had been a long day and she was extremely tired but she was back to make sure everything was as she left it. She made a quick visit to the toilet and as she washed her hands she looked at herself in the mirror and gasped, she could understand Tia's comment about looking like a zombie. Her eyes were ringed dark grey and looked bloodshot, her face was paler than she had ever seen it. Raising her hand she touched the only part of her face that looked normal, brushing her fingers along her lips she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Looking good!"

"Hey Mariah" Hilary didn't even bother to open her eyes as she heard the familiar voice "you too"

"You aren't even looking at me"

"I know" Hilary opened her eyes and looked at their reflections, Mariah did actually look good but her face was thunderously angry "how is everyone?"

"No changes as far as I know, When did you last sleep Hilary, or eat for that matter?"

"I had a sandwich"

"When?"

Self consciously Hilary looked down at her watch "Um….'bout, twelve hours ago"

"How has no one else noticed this?" Mariah grabbed her friend by the arm and physically dragged her out of the bathroom and

"Mariah!" Hilary found herself being dragged down the corridor past Tala and Kai's room's "STOP IT! Come on this isn't fair I don't have the energy to fight with you!"

Two heads appeared out of the doorways they had passed, Tala and Kai exchanged puzzled looks as Mariah pushed Hilary into the last room of the corridor and locked the door.

Hilary could be heard yelling for a few moments, after she quietened down Mariah told her "Now you aren't coming out until I say so!"

Smiling happily Mariah skipped down the corridor waving cheerfully to the two spectators as she passed

"Do we want to know what just happened?" Tala asked amused by the girls actions

"Nope!" and Mariah skipped happily out of sight.

The two boys shrugged and disappeared bck into their rooms.

Inside her room Hilary looked at the oh-so-inviting bed. To be honest she knew it wasn't healthy to be awake this long, you didn't need to be studying medicine to know that sleep was mandatory! She slowly lifted herself up onto the bed and lay down. It wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world in fact it was one of the most painful rest experiences of her life, worse than a hospital bed! 'Well maybe just a few minutes' she mumbled placing her head on the pillow seriously doubting she would actually manage to get any rest.

Within seconds she was asleep.

--

Sitting on his own in the lab Brady carefully wrote out the prescriptions for each of the Blitzkrieg boys, he looked up to see Mariah enter the room smiling "Hilary won't be joining you for a little while"

"Oh" Brady looked down at the paper he was writing "she wanted this double-checked before I sent it out"

"Can't someone else do it?" Mariah asked impatiently

"Oh yeah" Brady nodded vaguely "I guess any of the scientists can check it"

Mariah threw her hands into the air exasperated at his inconsiderate attitude 'Didn't he care that Hilary wasn't coping with all this?'

"Well get another scientist to look at it, I don't think she's slept in a couple of days she looks like the living dead. I can't allow her to do anything more until she get some rest and some sleep."

"Very well" Brady nodded "I'll have Carter double check everything"

"Thanks Brady" Mariah left the room and went in search of her boyfriend and his old team

Brady lifted the paper into view and threw it down on the table, carefully lifting his pen he proceeded to add an extra zero onto the number twenty

--

Three men two with grey hair and one a brunette sat on black leather seats looking out at the London skyline. Each man held a short glass half filled with their drink of choice. The office they sat in had light grey walls and large windows that allowed them to have one of the best views in the city. It was a situation they would normally have enjoyed but they were weighed down by their problems.

"What do we have?" Voltaire asked Boris

"Nothing, nothing at all wherever those cars take them all they manage to lose our drivers in minutes. They could be in the city or located somewhere in the outskirts of London we just don't know"

"Have you tried tracing this Renaldo guy through his bank, is he making any payments to estate agents or building…"

"Nothing, we think he has a false account somewhere but we have nothing to link him to any other account, he's been very smart."

"How about phone records?" Horatio asked knowing that he was clutching at straws but still hoping for a positive reaction

"Again nothing, the radio signals are untraceable bouncing around all over the place they haven't been using phones much at all unless it's a cell phone and that's not really something you can pin down to a specific location."

"What about our plant?" Horatio enquired rubbing his chin contemplatively

"It's been offline for two weeks the last location it was in is deserted, we haven't got in touch with him because if we did…" Boris trailed off shrugging

"I know" Voltaire sighed rubbing his eyes with a finger and thumb "if we do that we compromise him."

"Does he know?" Horatio asked sounding worried

"That the bug isn't working?" Boris asked while shaking his head "No, it was only ever a one way thing he knew we could hear him and track him but he could never hear us. He still thinks we're there, listening to everything"

"So what else can we do? Have we tried placing bugs or trackers on them?"

"All the time but they have all become rigorous in the cleaning of their clothes and from what I hear Renaldo's cars seem to have a detector that knows when there is something on them."

"Is there no other way to plant a bug?" Horatio asked curiously "those things are tiny there's no way they would find one that's well hidden"

"I don't know about that" Boris said looking serious "but we need to find out what's going on and we need to do it fast, it's been over a week since we knew anything new."

"There's only one thing for it then" Horatio sat back in his chair and smiled at the other two men who looked at him questioningly "We bring Hilary in."

"What?" Voltaire was shocked at what his friend was suggesting "I thought…"

"I told you 'from now on we do what we need to' Boris you said Kai reacted badly to Hilary's being attacked"

"He went crazy. In all the years I've known I've never seen him so mad"

"And Kai visited my granddaughter everyday while she was in hospital after the shooting, not only that she has obviously become a key player in all this."

"I still don't get it"

"We get Hilary we'll have Kai and maybe even the others walking in here in no time! Boris can you organise this?"

"She was pretty tricky to get hold of last time, and that's an understatement!"

"It'll have to be at night when her guard is down and try using team thunderbolt again" Voltaire suggested "lets see if sponsoring them and investing so much energy in them has been worth it"

"We'll have to do it soon" Horatio agreed nodding "her friend who shares with her is in hospital but she gets out soon. We need to get Hilary while she's alone!"

* * *

Another cliffhanger, oh I'm mean!

By the way I've been trying to think up a name for Millies beyblade, any suggestions? I'm no good at that kind of thing.

Ok that was quite a long one, and a lot happened, I hope I'll be back soon

You know what to do!


	34. Wrong person right place

Hey my lovely peoples! Back sooner than I thought but I needed to cheer myself up so I decided to start writing!

I do not own beyblade Dr Seuss or Transformers (the disclaimer will make more sense later!)

* * *

"I really thought you'd forgotten" Arelam grinned as she looked at the necklace Hiro had given her

"Well you know me!" Hiro smiled nervously as he put his gift around her neck "I like surprises"

Arelam looked suspiscious "Since when?" Luckily for Hiro it was at that moment there was a knock at the door

"That'll be Millie" Hiro quickly opened the door and welcomed the young girl in,

"Hey Hiro, wow Arelam" Millie smiled at Hiro's wife "you look amazing, I love that dress"

"Really thank you, I've been wanting to wear this for ages it's a…"

"OK" Hiro grabbed his wife's arm knowing that if they stayed there much longer the two of them would begin a long drawn out conversation about dresses and fashion "we **have **to go now"

"Robins already in bed" Arelam called back as Hiro guided her quickly to the door "just read him a story and he'll be fine!"

"Alright" Millie smiled as she watched Hiro and Arelam leave the hotel room, Arelam looked so thrilled to be going out and doing something that didn't involve beyblading. Little Robin would be easy to take care of tonight, and all Millie had to do was read a story to the boy before leaving him to sleep for the night. Walking into the child's room she found that the one year old was lying there giggling and holding onto his favourite Dr Seuss Book.

"Hello Robin" the boy giggled even harder as she sat next him "you want this one huh? Ok There's a wocket in my pocket" she read the title and opened the book leaning down so Robin could see the pictures

--

Kendall led his team to Hilary's door, there had been some arguments over whether or not what they were doing was really necessary. They all knew that Boris was the reason they were there but they weren't happy about this. Lando the team captain was in this as deep as Kendall was he had once been a blunette but recently his hair colour had faded and slowly become greyer making him look older than the 23 years he actually was.

Both Bavin and Sanjeev were of Indian descent and had similar looks, they were mainly interested in becoming world champions. Bavin (22) and Sanjeev (19) were brothers and had joined the team after one of the original players left, they were poor and needed the money which meant that no matter how much they questioned something they would do as they were told.

At the door Lando gave Sanjeev a quick nod and the boy quietly dropped to his knees and worked on the lock of Hilary's door. Breaking into Hilary's suite was very easy, team thunderbolt were congratulating themselves on the ease with which they had gotten in when they realised something was wrong, Hilary wasn't there.

"Search the rooms" Kendall hissed, he had been sure that Hilary would be there tonight and he had been sure she would be alone. This was supposed to have been easy a simple job, break into the room, grab the girl while she was sleeping and hand her over to Boris!.

The entire team went on a rough search of the rooms, finally one of them found something useful. Bavin was searching Hilary's room when he found her diary on her dressing table. Against his better judgement he handed the book to Kendall hoping it wouldn't help too much.

Looking through Hilary's diary Kendall found that days date, in big red letters were the words '_Arelams Birthday!!_' underneath that message was the word '_Babysitting?_' he grinned slyly.

"She'll be in Hiro's suite" Kendall told his team "anyone know where that is?"

Lando nodded "yeah, come on!" and together they left headed for a new destination.

--

Turning on the television Millie sat down with a can of coke from the mini bar and flicked from channel to channel, she found a show she wanted to watch and then settled down, soon she found herself dozing off an unusual thing for her and turning off the TV she allowed her eyelids to droop.

Millie only sleep for a few minutes before something woke her, stretching she looked around trying to discover what noise had awoken her. Finally she heard another noise and this time she knew that it came from Robin's room. Walking in she discovered that her charge hadn't gone to sleep as she left, instead he was lying on his bed hugging a Transformers toy to his chest and smiling sunnily.

"You should be asleep, why don't you put Optimus Prime down…" she spoke gently to him earning a wider grin as he sat up shaking his head

"No!"

"Oh brother and here I thought this would be easy" Millie took the boy into her arms and whispered soothingly to him, she had sat there for just over twenty minutes when she finally felt him relax and finally fall asleep.

She was about to lay him down when she heard another noise, frozen with fear she could hear someone else moving around in the room she had just left. Still holding onto Robin she crept to the door and leant against it trying to hear what was going on.

"She's not here either"

"Well that doesn't make any sense"

Millie almost gasped, that was Kendall's voice she knew it was. Looking around she grabbed Robins change bag and tried to think of an escape. She felt calm until she heard more, there was a loud smash and opening the door slightly Millie could see Kendall standing over the glass coffee table. He was panting heavily as he looked at the damage he had done, slipping back into the room Millie closed the door.

--

Arriving at Hiro's suite Sanjeev once more let them in, entering the room it was dark and quiet. By this time Kendall was getting impatient, to be honest he didn't really give a damn about helping Boris and his other bosses but he did know that he needed their money. Getting stressed he sat himself down on the sofa and roughly threw his feet down onto the coffee table, he must have hit a weak point on the table because immediately his feet went plunging through the glass and down onto the floor.

He jumped up guiltily and ever so slightly breathless as he hoped no one had heard the accident.

"Nice going" Sanjeev commented enjoying Kendall's unease

"Shut the Fuck up" Kendall hissed

"Chill Kendall, besides she could be in one of those rooms, do you really think smashing the table will help?" Lando grabbed Kendall by the arm and shook him roughly

"It was an accident. Oi you two! Search the rooms" Bavin and Sanjeev went to the rooms nearest them and found that they were empty, Lando headed to the room nearest the door and tried the handle, he turned the handle again, he pulled on it. Nothing.

"Damn it" Lando pulled and cursed a little longer, "Hey Kendall" he beckoned his team mate over "this one's locked"

Kendall's eyes brightened and a sinister smirk crossed his features.

--

Locking the door Millie looked around in a panic, this door was the only way out and she couldn't use it. Finally her eyes rested on the window, there was probably a fire escape or something…. No! she couldn't do that not with Robin in tow and she couldn't leave Robin here that was for sure. She pulled out her phone but couldn't think of anyone she could call who could help her in time.

Soon the door handle was moving "Damn it" she could hear cursing on the other side of the door. There was a muffled and angry sounding conversation on the other side of the door and finally a knock

"Hilary?" the voice was Kendall's and filled with angry malice "don't make this hard on yourself. We won't hurt the boy we promise."

Millie knew as soon as she heard him say this that it wasn't true, she looked down at the sleeping child and held him closer. Kendall couldn't be trusted, he could never be trusted and she seriously doubted that either of them would be OK when it was discovered that Hilary was not there. If this boy was working for Boris then he would take her and Robin if her thought it would affect Hilary. Shoving her phone back into her pocket she stared at the only remaining escape route.

"Looks like it's the window kid" Millie whispered and carrying Robin in one arm the girl crossed quickly to the window carefully opening it. Looking out she saw that she had been right, there was a fire escape, carefully placing Robin onto the stairs she climbed out after him. Once out she picked up the sleeping boy and started to make her way down the stairs.

She had only gone a few steps down when she saw that the stairs became a ladder before they reached the anywhere near the bottom, she knew there was no way she could carry Robin down a ladder. Walking quickly back up she began to doubt she could ever escape, as she passed the bedroom window again she could hear team thunderbolt banging at the door, suddenly there was a loud thump and the entire door shook. They were trying to break it down! Slamming the window shut Millie knew she had no choice but to run up, shivering a little in the cold night air she began to run.

Robin seemed to get heavier the higher Millie got, she wasn't really sure how long or high she could keep running. Below her she could here her pursuers climbing out after her it wouldn't be long before one of them spotted her….

--

"Well knocking isn't helping" Lando Kendall's captain sniffed derisively as Kendall continued to bang on the door "And it looks like she's not fallen for you're…. **charm**" he uttered the last word with an amused sniff

"You got a better idea?"

"Watch and learn" Kendall watched as Lando took a slight run and threw himself bodily at the door, the door shook but didn't move

"I'm watching, I'm learning" Kendall smirked walking up to the door and testing it with one hand "but it aint very helpful" he moved back to allow Lando to try again but Bavin grabbed his arm not allowing the grey haired Blader to continue

"Look we already broke the table that can be written off as an accident that somneone else made but the door is another matter!"

"Then what do you suggest" Lando snapped rubbing his arm

Bavin grinned and turned to the only team mate who had yet to speak "Sanjeev you're up"

Rolling his eyes Sanjeev dropped to his knees and once again started to fiddle with the lock, "the keys still in" he muttered shoving the key out of the lock. They heard something fall to the floor on the other side and within a few moments the lock clicked and not bothering to get open he twisted the handle and opened the door.

The team entered the room to find it in darkness, they looked around surprised the door had definitely locked from the inside so where….

"The window!" Lando was over to it in a second, pushing it up he looked out "there's a fire escape here"

The entire team crawled though the window and stood on the metal steps, their first thought matched Millie's and they went down a few of the metal steps. Then above them they heard something. Kendall grabbed the railing and leaned dangerously far out, looking up he could see someone running

"**Up there**!" he yelled and the team spun around beginning to make their way up.

--

Millie was running as quickly and quietly as possible until suddenly her foot caught on the next step and she fell forward. For a second she froze Robin hadn't awoken and she was praying they hadn't heard her. It didn't take ehr long to realise that they could split up and follow her so she had better put as much distance between her and them as possible. Pulling herself back up she began to run.

"**Up there**!"

Millie glanced down the stairwell to see them following, panic gripped her, she needed to get back in but even if she managed to get into the building she didn't know where to go. She had left her key back in Hiro's suite, Tia and Hilary's suite was empty with no one to let her in, she had run up about seven flights of stairs when she finally came to an open window. Practically jumping through it she slammed the window shut behind her, glancing down the corridor she saw the elevator open and someone get out

"Hold that please!" Millie ran towards the lift and was pleasantly surprised that the person she had shouted too had been polite enough to actually do as she asked. "Thank you" she called as he walked away and slammed her thumb urgently onto one of the buttons.

As the doors closed on her Millie saw the window she had come through smash as one of team thunderbolt came crashing through it. Throwing herself back against the wall so they wouldn't see her she prayed they wouldn't notice the moving lift.

Standing in the lift she tried to think of where to go she didn't really no anyone else she could trust apart from the other teams and she had no idea which rooms they were all in. As she stood there for some reason Max popped into her mind 'now is neither the time nor the place' she muttered then stopped _"__Maybe later? I'm in suite 214 if you want to call around?__" _Looks like I'm going to take you up on that sooner than expected!

_--_

"It's stopping on floor 2!" Lando announced looking at the screen above the list

"Well what are you waiting for get down there" Kendall yelled running for the nearest stairs

"Kendall there's no point" Lando grabbed the boys arm and held him in place "we could never get there before she got somewhere safe and she's probably headed to friends we can't try kidnap her if there are others around."

"Well are you going to tell Boris that we've failed again?"

"No we tell him the truth" Bavin said "She wasn't in her room."

"Can we go back to bed now?" Sanjeev complained "in case you'd forgotten we still have to play tomorrow" Kendall nodded unenthusiastically and the team quickly made there way back to their room.

Walking away from the elevator and up the stairs Kendall couldn't help wondering if Hilary would have them taken from the competition for this, she now knew that there was definitely more to Kendall than some player who liked to chat up pretty girls but it was also obvious to him that Mr Dickenson wasn't being told everything that happened. No Hilary couldn't tell, not without betraying the truth behind Kai's alleged 24 hour bug that had meant he couldn't play the other day.

There was no way she could have them taken out of the tournament!

--

"Who the Hell could that be?" Rick grumbled as he rolled over

"I dunno" Max sat up in bed sleepily rubbing the back of his neck, the knocking at the door had awoken them both a few minutes ago but as yet neither boy wanted to bother getting up. The knocking became louder, more urgent and finally Max pushed himself off the bed and made his way out of his and Rick's room and to the door of his suite.

"Whoever it is tell them to fuck off!" Michael moaned through his closed door

"You fuck off" Max hissed quietly feeling annoyed with himself that he never had the guts or hard heartedness to say stuff like that aloud. But it was actually more of a reflex reaction now, he had stopped hating Michael recently and the sight of Michael and Emily together no longer hurt him. Stretching a little Max switched on the lights and opened the door he was shocked by what happened next. Millie shot into the room Robin in her arms and tears rolling down her face

"Close the door" she begged and Max did so making sure it locked behind her.

Turning back to face the girl he noticed that there was real fear in her eyes "Millie what's wrong?" no longer feeling tired Max came forward and put an arm around the trembling girl

"Kendall he was…. He was…." she looked around distractedly and didn't seem able to say anymore so Max led her to the sofa and took Robin out of her arms

"Ok calm down" he lay the sleeping boy down on a chair and took Millie's hand, kneeling in front of her and looking into her eyes he asked "what happened?"

Millie told him what had occurred and about how she had left her key behind and that she couldn't wake her cousins because they didn't know about what had happened with Kendall "and then I thought of you" she finished off "You told me your suite number earlier and you knew what had happened you know we think he's working for…."

"Yeah I know" Max cut in scratching his head "I can't believe they were trying to kidnap Hilary again"

"You were the only person I could think of to trust apart from the White Tigers and the Blade breakers and I don't know what rooms they are in. If it hadn't been for what you said earlier I wouldn't have had anywhere to go."

"Ok we need to warn Renaldo about all this" Max told her still holding her hand and stroking it soothingly "but you did the right thing coming here. I promise everything will be fine, Millie I..."

"Hey Max?" Max was annoyed to see his entire team staring at him confusedly,

"What Emily?" he stared at the redhead extremely annoyed

"What is she doing here?" Emily gave Millie a dirty look as she slipped an arm around Michael

Max sighed with relief they obviously hasn't heard enough to have any sense of what was really going on.

"Um…" Max tried to think up an excuse "Millie and I just…. We were talking about…"

"I'm baby sitting Robin and he's coughing I thought maybe there was something wrong. I knew Max had looked after him and thought I'd ask" Millie knew it was a lame excuse but she thought it was good enough until Rick said something that made her so on edge she couldn't even respond to it

"Look Max if you and your new girlfriend want to have a night-time rendezvous do it in her room or just be quiet about it and I know you're new at this but try to do it without the baby! And get up you look like you're proposing" Rick ran a hand through his hair and went back into his room where he could be heard collapsing onto the bed.

The rest of the PPB All Starz slowly shuffled back to bed and Max smiled at the flushing blonde in front of him.

"I'm so sorry" Millie gasped out, "I can explain to them in the morning… tell them what's really going on!"

"I wouldn't worry about it really" Max shrugged carelessly

"But they think we're" she could barely say the next word "…dating"

"I don't mind"

"But…surely…, I mean you and Emily were…. how can you not mind?"

Millie was clearly embarrassed so Max smiled and holding a hand out placed it on her cheek. "Why would I mind that people think I'm lucky enough to date the prettiest girl in the competition?"

Millie couldn't think of anything to say she just sat there opening and closing her mouth looking shocked.

"You call Renaldo" Max told her amused at the girls reaction to his compliment he then picked up the still sleeping boy and took him into his room "I'll put Robin in my bed"

"Uh…Yeah" Millie pulled out her phone and dialled Renaldo, again she gave him a quick rundown on what had happened.

"Are you ok?" Renaldo was concerned but Millie quickly allayed his fears

"I'm fine, it's Hilary I'm worried about, do you know where she is?"

"Yeah she's here" Renaldo grinned "Mariah locked her in one of the bedrooms"

"OK?" Millie was amused by this answer but too tired to actually ask why Mariah had locked Hilary up. Instead she yawned "I'll see you tomorrow and get an explanation about that!"

"Alright" Renaldo teased her "Wish Max sweet dreams for me"

"Get lost!" Millie flipped her phone shut hanging up on him with a frustrated sigh.

"No Hiro everything's fine" Max was speaking on his phone carrying two blankets "when the table broke she needed to go somewhere else…. Robin fell asleep here so he and Millie are just going to stay the night….. Ok see you tomorrow"

"I um…I take it you didn't tell Hiro th-the whole truth" Millie flushed red as Max sat next to her on the couch, it was as if she had only just realised that he was only wearing a pair of dark blue boxers!

"Nah" Max handed her a blanket and settled into his seat "just told him you were having trouble with Robin and he threw a toy and broke the table. Bit of a pathetic excuse I know but I couldn't think of anything else."

"Thanks. Um...Max?"

"Yeah Millie?"

"Um…" Millie bit her lip nervously she couldn't help but think now might be a good time to talk to Max, unfortunately she had no clue what she ought to say. Instead she just whispered "We-We ought to get some sleep, can you turn the light out?"

"I thought you were the insomniac" he teased

"I am but I got no sleep last night and all the running really tired me out"

"OK no problem" Max stood up and switched out the light plunging them into darkness, Millie could hear Max settle himself in one of the chairs so she lay down. They were both quiet for a while but she could hear him shifting around.

"Are you OK?"

"Just trying to get comfortable" he told her, Millie looked over at him, in the dark she could see how uncomfortable the chair would be, looking at her own sleeping area she had plenty of space. This was something Mariah would have called a 'golden opportunity' Millie blushing pushed the idea from her mind but as she heard Max move again she blurted out

"There's plenty of room here, want to share?" Immediately she regretted it, she wondered if she could possibly call superman and ask him to fly around the earth really fast causing time to rewind. Then she realised that was stupid, she'd lost superman's number weeks ago!

"Are you sure?" Max was surprised but pleased at the offer

"I… I'm sure" Millie could hear Max stand and move toward her, she shifted back further into the sofa so that he would have more room. Max lay down next to her and the two of them feeling a little embarrassed wished each other goodnight.

--

Hilary had to admit that the eleven hours of sleep she had managed to get were the best hours of sleep she had ever had. Part of her knew that there was plenty she could have done during the time she had spent in the room but another part of her was deeply grateful to Mariah. She had awoken in the middle of the night to find the door to her room unlocked and a pile of fresh clothes ready for her. After a quick shower she had dressed and for some reason felt a lot better and even slightly more hopeful that they would beat this thing. Walking into Kai's room she discovered that someone was already there,

"Oh sorry" she immediately apologised, the nurse had an empty needle in her hand and was leaning over the sleeping Kai. Hilary moved forward and took Kai's hand in her own, the room was just like a standard hospital room. One bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe, a chair for visitors and a window with those cheap pointless blinds that never made any difference to the light or lack of light in the room. It was cold and clinical but it made her feel a bit better about leaving them here, it was clean, hospital like and more importantly it gave her a feeling of hope.

"Don't worry" the nurse whispered "I'm just finished here." as the nurse began to tidy up Hilary smiled and looked down at Kai, gently rubbing the back of his hand with her fingers.

Suddenly the hand in hers jerked and Kai's whole body began to convulse violently, Hilary felt panic grip her and she immediately tried to hold him down. The nurse dropped what she was doing and ran forward to join her.

"What's wrong?" Hilary yelled as the looked at the machines Kai was hooked up to trying to understand what was going on, suddenly the shaking and fitting finished and Kai stopped moving entirely.

* * *

Ok this was quickly typed and I haven't even started the next one, hope you all liked, love ya all!

R&R


	35. Stage Three

Sorry I left you on another cliffy guys! You all seemed really mad with me for that! Sorry if I scared any of you! We have a little more Max Millie fluffiness coming up for any fans of it!

I am insanely busy and haven't had time to respond to any of you or start reading any of the new stories I see are now up. I haven't even reviewed Forbidden yet (the most recent chapter was Ah-mazing!!). I have my family down for a visit, I love them but can barely ever get near the computer. I was up till midnight last night finishing this off and even then someone was bugging me say that they had something important to do. (her exact words were, stop writing those crap fanfics no one cares!) There may be some spelling mistakes here but please bear with me I didn't have time to spell check everything

I do not own beyblade.

* * *

**Previously…..**

"Don't worry" the nurse whispered "I'm just finished here." as the nurse began to tidy up Hilary smiled and looked down at Kai, gently rubbing the back of his hand with her fingers.

Suddenly the hand in hers jerked and Kai's whole body began to convulse violently, Hilary felt panic grip her and she immediately tried to hold him down. The nurse dropped what she was doing and ran forward to join her.

"What's wrong?" Hilary yelled as the looked at the machines Kai was hooked up to trying to understand what was going on, suddenly the shaking and fitting finished and Kai stopped moving entirely.

**And now….**

* * *

Silence filled the air only broken by that reassuring beep from the heart monitor, he was alive...just!

Hilary breathed deeply trying to keep clm. She had been sure that he was dead the machines said he was alive but she still found herself placing her finger on his neck she could feel a steady pulse. Suddenly Kai began to move again instinctively Hilary began to hold him down but Kai merely shifted uncomfortably, muttering in his sleep. Hilary watched his face carefully smiling slightly as she gazed at him.

Suddenly becoming conscious that she was still holding Kai down a hand on one shoulder and her other hand located on his bare chest, she may have been applying less pressure than before but Hilary felt embarrassed. Slowly, uncertainly she took her hands away, on the other side of the bed the nurse followed suit.

"Was that supposed to happen?" the nurse asked staring at him "this is the first time I've ever given anyone this stuff is that normal?"

"No" Hilary shook he head "no one has ever done that before. What were you giving him? Rooksen?"

"Sorry what?" The nurse looked up confusedly, looking up Hilary noticed that the nurse was actually very young, probably just a few years older than her it was easy to see that she was panicking, gently reassuring the nurse Hilary asked again.

"Is that the Rooksen solution?"

"Yes," she nodded slowly her lower lip trembling "I don't think I did anything wrong but…."

"It's OK" Hilary reassured "I'm sure you did what you were supposed to."

"I followed the instructions to the letter"

"How much did you put in?"

"200 ml's as Dr. Tatibana instructed"

"Wait 200? It should be 20 ml" Hilary exclaimed urgently moving to the end of the bed and consulting his chart "Oh my god it does say 200! Have you administered this to any of the others?" She was practically yelling by now as she stared down at the charts.

"No Kai's was the first room," the nurse sounded afraid so Hilary sensitively changed her tone.

"It should be 20," she reiterated gently "change their charts **immediately** if you give them that much you won't be stalling the cybernetics you could be speeding them up! Go change the others charts before someone else does this!"

"I'll do that right now, I'm so sorry" the nurse ran out leaving Hilary alone with Kai's unconscious form.

"It's not your fault, Brady screwed up again that's all" Hilary muttered to herself.

Alone and afraid she stood looking down at Kai, gently she brushed a hand against his cheek "Hey Kai I'm going to go talk to Brady and the others, try not to die while I'm gone OK?" With one last look back at the bed Hilary left the room.

--

"Looks like we could definitely set up a small burst of electromagnetic energy, if we keep it low we'll only affect a ten mile radius" Brady nodded as he listened to his colleague

"Will it definitely do what we think?"

"It will destroy the bugs inside them as Hilary predicted"

"We actually think they might survive it, they're all only in stage two and they're perfectly healthy…."

"BRADY!!" they could hear Hilary coming as she walked down the corridor yelling angrily "Brady where the hell are you?"

As the brunette threw open the door to the lab the group of scientists all looked at her surprised, Hilary walked over to her uncle and threw the prescriptions in his face

"What's wrong?" Brady blinked at her sounding confused

"200 ml's instead of 20" Hilary told him her chin trembling as she pointed down at what he had written

One of the other scientists took the chart and stared at it "Oh my god, Brady how could you make such a mistake?" he held out the form for Brady to see.

"I didn't, at least" Brady paused and looked down at the papers in front of him "I don't think I did"

"I told you!" Hilary brushed away the tears falling from her eyes, "I told you to get someone to double check you're work. I said that if you didn't something could go wrong"

"Have they all been given the high dosage?" Renaldo (drawn to the room thanks to Hilary's shouting) asked cautiously

"No" Hilary shook her head the tears still falling "only one of them" her lower lip trembled as she tried to stop herself from crying even more

"Kai." Renaldo didn't even need to ask the question as he placed a comforting am around her shoulders "what affect has it had?"

"I won't know until morning when he wakes up, **if **he wakes up" Hilary stared at Brady and shook her head "I know you didn't do it on purpose but…." she couldn't find the words to talk to him right now, her sorrow had caught up to her anger and sobbing she turned and buried her head in Renaldo's chest.

"Ok Hilly" he gently rubbed her back "It'll be OK"

They all knew he was lying, that it wouldn't be OK but somehow the lie made them both feel slightly better.

Brady looked at his niece and felt a huge pang of guilt, he knew how she was feeling right now. The life of the one she loved was in danger and she could do nothing about it. He understood, he knew that feeling, he felt it everyday. Everyday he was away from his wife and child, everyday they were in the clutches of his heartless unscrupulous father.

"They better still be safe" Brady hissed moving away from the others so that he couldn't be heard "I swear if I'm doing all this and you've hurt them, I'll kill you!"

There was no answer, he never got one but he knew he had been heard, he knew thy were listening after all **they **were always listening.

--

Slipping into Kai's room Hilary immediately felt scared, he didn't look like he was breathing. Walking up to the bed she looked at the machines, all readings seemed normal now but she still placed her hand in front of his mouth to convince herself that he was still breathing. She sighed with relief, he was.

Hilary sat by Kai's bed and cried, tears falling down her face and dripping unchecked onto the white sheets Kai lay under. He hadn't moved since the fitting and Hilary had to again hold a hand in front of his face occasionally in order to convince herself he was still breathing. Slowly leaning forward in her chair she took his hand, and rested her forehead on it.

"Please, please wake up!" she whispered the cold scientific side of her knowing that merely willing him was no real help, but the desperate and caring side of her knew that she would call his name just hoping for a response until she had no reason to call anymore, even then there was no guarantee she'd give up hope.

"I'm so sorry" Brady stood in the doorway looking doleful "I messed up again"

"Yeah" Hilary was in no mood to talk to him and she resolutely kept her voice hard as she raised her head "you really messed up this time. God 'messed up' sounds so immature and small, its not a big enough word to use."

"I know, sorry seems kind of pointless to. We can't use the EMP on him now" Brady placed a hand on her shoulder "there is no way he'd survive it, he'll be to weak"

"NO" Hilary jumped up sending the chair flying "Kai isn't weak, don't ever say that, I don't care that you mean medically, but you are never, NEVER to call him weak"

"But there's no way"

"He will decide that, it is his decision and his decision alone, it could be that he prefers to ensure that his body can never be studied by the evil and twisted men that did this to him"

Brady winced as she said this and Hilary realised what she had said and immediately felt bad

"Oh God Brady, I didn't mean"

"I know" he looked defeated as he looked at the still body on the bed "he means a lot to you huh?"

"He's a good friend"

"And you owe him your life"

"Many times over" Hilary looked down at him clenching her fists as she remembered all the times the bluenette had saved her

"I'm going to get back to the lab" Brady turned to leave "Hilary?"

"Yeah?"

"You do know I'm right and that now we can't even think about using the EMP like you suggested, his body is so wea…." He stopped and corrected himself "his body is so exhausted he would never survive it"

"I know you think that" Hilary nodded and then smiled "but this is Kai, he can survive pretty much anything, please just leave me with him for a while"

Brady nodded and left, after the door closed Hilary looked at Kai, once again despite the machines confirmation that everything was fine she was gripped with fear over how still he was, she leaned forward and placed a hand in front of his mouth. Feeling his warm breath she smiled and settled herself in the chair by his bed, she wasn't tired but she rested her head anyway, she wasn't sure when she'd be getting any sleep again and she might as well try to get some now.

--

Max rolled onto his side, there was an uncomfortable crick in his neck and he felt really stiff. Stretching and trying to rid himself of the annoying pain he felt his hand hit something soft...looking left he smiled. Millie was sleeping soundly beside him, he studied the girls face and was surprised, she was pretty but there was something sad about her face as she slept almost as tough she was dreaming about something unpleasant. He lay staring at her watching as she moved and slowly dreamily opened her eyes.

Still drowsy Millie shifted comfortably, she felt so rested, so comfortable, her eyes fluttered open and stared right into a pair of bright cerulean eyes…..

"Oh no" Millie whispered as she shot up into a sitting position "Um… I….um" she was muttering unintelligibly, Max smiled she was cute when she was flustered.

"Good morning to you too!" Max stretched and looked up at her "You slept for quite a while"

"What time is it?" she looked around surprised to see that the sky outside was a bright blue

"About eight" Max sat up and looked at the clock behind him "Oh seven, fifty five actually"

"What?" Millie looked at the clock amazed "is that totally accurate?"

"I think so" Max shrugged curious but enjoying how close their heads were, as she whipped her head back around her hair brushed against his cheek smelling beautifully of jasmine "why do you ask?"

"Well that would mean that I slept for seven hours"

"About seven and a half actually" Max corrected, he cocked his head to one side curiously "is that a big deal?"

"I have never in all the time I can remember slept for more than five hours in a night" she smiled shyly at him "I can't even begin to remember the last time I slept that long!"

"Really….?." Max was about to say more when they heard one of his team-mates bedroom doors open, immediately both of them lay down and pulled the covers over themselves feigning sleep. Neither of them were entirely sure if why they had done this but both remained still keeping their breathing even making sure they seemed sound asleep.

"Are they awake yet?" It was Emily, Max could feel someone leaning over the back of the sofa staring at them

"Nah both still dead to the world" Michael was the one leaning over them, Max could feel himself getting annoyed at his team mate but strangely enough for once the urge to punch the guy in the face wasn't there! He just pretended to shift slightly as though he had been disturbed by Michaels' leaning over him, immediately he heard him move back. As he moved again he felt Millie stiffen, he was wondering why when he realised that in moving he had placed his arm around her. The blonde immediately wanted to move back but knew that if he did it would be obvious he was still awake. So tightening his hold to reassure her, he remained still, one arm around the pretty blonde.

Millie had almost had a mini heart attack when Max placed his arm across her stomach and left it there, after a few seconds his hold on her tightened and slowly her breathing seemed to steady itself. She concentrated on keeping her breathing steady instead of how strong Max's arm felt and how good he smelled.

"Hey let them sleep" Rick closed his door behind him while at the same time Eddy could be heard leaving his room

"Yeah come on lets go practice" Eddy whispered considerately trying not to wake the sleeping 'couple'. "We can come back to get Max later"

"Good plan" Rick agreed ushering them all out of the room, they all murmured agreement and left the room, Rick was the last out of the room and as he left he turned back.

"You two can stop pretending to be asleep now!" his voice was low so that only they could hear him he sounded very amused

The door slammed shut and Millie groaned covering her eyes with her hands "Oh God this couldn't get more embarrassing."

Max just grinned, he was willing to bet Rick was the only one who had known they weren't asleep and as far as he was concerned Rick was like Ray and Kai the big brothers he, had never had. He could trust Rick not to make a big deal out of this. Then he realised that Millie really was upset by all this, he looked across at her.

"Millie?" she didn't answer, Max pushed himself up and looked down at her "Millie look at me."

'Ha! So not gonna happen' she thought as she kept her hands over her face refusing to look at him. Max sighed and sitting up properly tried to move her hands from her face

"Please Millie. Look at me!" the pleading note in his voice seemed to do the trick and slowly Millie removed her hands and looked up at him she was actually blushing as she stared at him, Max had never seen anything so cute in all his life and was thinking about telling her so when a noise came from his bedroom

"Robin!" Millie shot up and jumped over the back of the couch before racing to Max's room. Max sighed as he watched her go, it was odd how shy she seemed around him. He wondered if maybe it was because she was embarrassed by what had happened with Kendall. In no time at all Millie came out of Max's room carrying the little boy in her arms

"I better take him back to Hiro and Arelam" Millie wanted to get out of the room quickly, she could practically feel her face burning up and turning red as she avoided Max's gaze. She could not remember the last time she felt this embarrassed, Rick knew they had been pretending to be asleep and he was bound to wonder why. "See you around!"

"Ok" unable to think of anything to say Max regretfully watched her go, he was aware of a feeling of loss. It was odd but he really didn't want her to leave the room. After the door shut behind her he sat down again thinking about it, she was pretty, very pretty! Even when she was upset she was pretty, she was one of those girls that looked even lovelier when she was upset and he wouldn't mind being the one who got to comfort her every time. And why hadn't he woken her up? Or got up when he awoke that morning? Why had he chosen to lie there pondering what she was dreaming watching her innocent smiling face as she…..?

"Ohhhh! Stupid Stupid Stupid!"

Max buried his head in his hands, now he got it! He liked her. That was why he no longer wanted to kill Michael, that was why he no longer thought that much about Emily. Damn it, last night he had, had the perfect opportunity to kiss her and he hadn't taken it. God he was such an idiot!

--

When Kai finally awoke his vision was blurry but he was able to make out figures standing around him and was surprised to find his bed surrounded by people. He tried to push himself up but found his arms were too weak to push himself up. He growled angrily as someone placed a hand on one of his shoulders.

"It's ok mate" Spencer placed his hand on his friends other shoulder "just stay where you are for now!"

"Spence?" Kai screwed up his eyes trying to make out his friends features. "What's going on?"

Kai was still unable to see people clearly but he heard Bryan as he whispered "Tala wake Hilary"

"No need" a familiar voice came from further away than the others and soon another figure joined the ones around the bed, Kai could make out Hilary's brown hair and as his vision cleared her stunning ruby eyes stared into his own

"I'm not dead yet then?"

"Not yet" Hilary whispered smiling at him "but you came pretty damn close"

"What did I do this time?"

Hilary looked at the others before receiving affirming nods, taking a deep breath she began to speak "Kai last night a nurse administered the wrong dosage of a certain solution to you"

Kai felt his whole body turn cold as he asked "Rooksen?"

"Yeah"

Kai stared at the wall across from him, he felt defeated, weak, and so tired. "I know that's bad but what does it mean to me exactly?"

Hilary paused they needed to do some tests to really confirm it but remembering the way he had squinted when he first looked at her she knew the answer "You couldn't see us when you woke up could you?"

Kai looked back at her taking in her pale frightened face and gazing into her beautiful ruby eyes, she was right he hadn't been able to see her. For a split second he considered lying, he wondered if maybe he ought to pretend for Hilary's sake that…. No! He shook his head he couldn't do that, he had to be honest with them "No, I couldn't see you properly, is that important?"

"It means that you almost definitely advanced into stage three during the night" Hilary told him.

"Right" Kai returned his gaze to the wall opposite, he had been waiting for this, they had all been waiting for this but none of them had expected it to happen so soon.

None of his team mates seemed able to look him in the eye, never before had Kai felt so low. Spencer finally looked up and gave him a half smile, "Kai you always have to be difficult don't you?"

"Only when it suits him" Bryan said both he and Ian finally meeting Kai's gaze, Tala was the only one who kept staring at the floor as though it was as intricately painted as the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

Giving up on Tala Kai shrugged "Stage three huh? I guess it had to happen sometime. Hilary…"

"Yes Kai?"

"Can you just let me talk to the guys for a second?"

"Sure" Hilary felt a little hurt but refused to show it as she started to make her way to the door "just call if you need anything."

As soon as she was gone Kai started to talk but was silenced by Tala, still looking at the floor Tala told him "If you're going to have the EMP we all are."

"Tala there is still a chance that they might find you a cure but there's no time left…."

"Tala's right" Spencer nodded unhappily "if you're gonna be subjected to the EMP then we all are"

"Yeah" Ian agreed "we're a team we're doing this together"

"Guys this isn't like clubbing, which I never did with you anyway, or backing each other up in a fight, this is life or death."

"We know that Kai" Bryan told him "we're not dumb, well Spencer is…."

"Hey!"

"…but we want to do this together."

Kai stared at them and could see that they meant it, they really wanted to do this as a team (god they could be stupidly stubborn) "No, I'm your captain, I say…"

"Sorry Kai, but you've been outvoted on this one" Tala kept his gaze down, he didn't even try to look at Kai as he continued "we do this together."

Kai gave up, he knew that tone of voice and there was no arguing with Tala in his current mood

"Fine then! Spence go get Renaldo, Bryan call the blade breakers they deserve to know what's going on, Ian go back to the hotel and pack up our stuf, we may not need it againf" the three team mates nodded and dashed off to obey their captains orders. "Tala you had better get Hilary in here"

Tala nodded and went to the door, there was a short and muffled conversation and finally Hilary walked in looking confused

"What does Tala mean? You're going to insist on having the treatment?" Hilary looked at him completely bewildered, she didn't quite understand what was going on. "we haven't run any tests yet, we don't know anything about..."

"Hilary you told me yourself that when we reach stage three we don't know how much time we have. I want to end this on my own terms"

"Well tough, I won't allow it" Hilary felt more than a little hypocritical as she yelled this but suddenly the realisation that she was losing him had hit home and she was angry "You just, you just can't!"

"Hilary you always have to do this don't you?"

"Do what?"

"Tell me what to do, boss me around! I sometimes think you only want me to live so you can do that."

"What do you mean?" Hilary asked sounding offended

"I mean you only want me to live so you can continue bossing me around, what gives you the right to tell any of us what to do?"

"I...I'm just trying to help you" she stared wide eyed at the bluenette as he sneered over at her.

"Well we don't need the help of an annoying, bossy, stuck up, opinionated, self centred girl"

"Bossy and opinionated? Well I'm sorry for trying to help you all, and let me tell you Kai that I may be bossy but at least I'm some disdainful bigoted creep of a guy who can't even show his feelings"

"Feelings?" Kai asked smirking "I can't believe you're harping on about those, Hilary get it through your thick head…."

Hilary didn't stick around to hear anymore, eyes brimming with unshed tears she turned away and ran from the room. Tala who had watched the whole interchange amazed

"Ok…. What the hell was all that about?" Tala stared disbelievingly at his captain "Kai you just really upset her! After all these weeks of helping us now she's left here thinking that you're some cold-hearted, conceited…." the redhead trailed off "Oh my god, you did that on purpose."

"It's nothing you'd understand" Kai coldly turned to face his team-mate

Whatever Kai might think Tala understood everything, he knew his friend too well "Do you really think that's going to help her?"

"I don't see why not." Kai glared at his friend for a moment before sighing and turning to stare out the window "Look Tala if I die tomorrow I don't want to cause her unnecessary sorrow. This way she's angry at me, she's annoyed and that will soon erase any of the good thoughts she has of me"

"You just have to be so fucking honourable don't you?" Tala spat out angrily "She LOVES YOU!! And ok you were mean for a few moments that won't erase all her memories of good times she shared with you. She's just gonna remember that you fought and if you die she'll be upset about that forever. Tomorrow you could die we all could die, we all know that!"

"So?"

"So, so? You have a chance to actually experience feelings instead of just repressing them."

"Stop lecturing me, I did the only thing I could think of to do and it's a bit late for that now isn't it?" Kai was calm as he sat on his bed slowly leaning back against the headboard and lifting his legs onto the bed.

"You know what Kai, I hope you do die tomorrow." Tala opened the door and started to walk through "but then again if you do die I'm not sure we'll be able to tell the difference, you'll be cold and stiff then as well" still there was no reaction from the stoic captain "you'll probably be better company when you're dead as well"

Tala slammed the door behind him immediately regretting his harsh words but not wanting to take them back right now. He would apologise to Kai before they got treated.

"Tala!" the redhead turned to find Renaldo headed for him running top speed down the corridor

"Hey Renaldo did Spencer find you?" Renaldo had grabbed the handle on Kai's door

"He was looking for me?" Renaldo paused before entering Kai's room "Why?"

"We've decided to go ahead with the EMP treatment"

"Really why woul…. Never mind that, I need to find Hilary and I need to find her now. I with all the fuss last night I totally forgot to tell her… look is she in there?" he indicted towards Kai's door

"No, why?"

"She's in danger, last night that guy that attacked you… what was his name?"

"Kendall?"

"That's it! Kendall and his team tried to kidnap Millie thinking she was Hilary"

"How could you mistake Millie for Hilary?"

"Oh that's what you're worrying about? Someone attempts to kidnap Hilary and you immediately think that?" Renaldo asked breaking himself off from his urgent business to be sarcastic

"Well it is an odd mistake to make"

"I know but…. Stop interrupting me I need to find Hilary!"

"Well she stormed out of here just a few moments ago, she and Kai had a fight."

"Do you know where she went?"

"No"

"Then I need to send someone to find her she could be in great danger, do you have her number?"

"Yes"

"Then call her I'll send out some men"

"Hey wait" Tala had a thought "She might have gone to see Tia, she often goes there to vent her feelings."

"OK you go see her I'll see if Millie or Kenny can hack into some system and track her phone, that's if she has it with her" Renaldo turned and ran off

"Right" Tala pulled out his cell phone and headed t out of the building before realising what he was doing "Wait me go see Tia?" Tala groaned, getting into one of the cars outside he muttered "to the hospital please" in the most disconsolate voice he had.

--

"Finally! I thought you……hey! What are you doing here?" Tia looked up to find Tala walking through the door looking sheepish, she glared at him

Tala didn't look any happier to be there than she was to see him "Hilary disappeared on us, I was hoping she'd be here"

"Why did she disappear?" Tia could tell that something was wrong "Is everything alright, you know considering…."

"Considering the fact that we're all dying?"

"Yeah" Tia gritted her teeth and nodded feeling stupid "you know what forget I asked. Just tell me what's going on with Hils, is she in any danger?"

"Actually she could be" Tala admitted, Tia gave him a questioning look so he explained what had happened. Tia grew visibly more angry as he told her about it.

"He said that to her?"

"Yep"

"And then you yelled at him?"

"Yeah"

"Well personally I think you did the right thing" Tia grinned but didn't really look any happier, from the look of it she was planning to have a talk with Kai at some point.

"You don't understand" Tala scratched his head "he loves her, he thinks he's protecting her."

"What an idiot"

"Tia you don't understand, he doesn't know how to deal with feelings, none of us do really. It's easier to push people away than to keep them close, that way we don't hurt them and they can't betray us."

"That's a very cynical view to have" despite what she said Tia could sympathise with the redhead and his team mates, they may never get hurt but they also never knew real happiness. "I guess I'm not the best person to talk about this but… sometimes we need to be hurt and betrayed. It helps us to become who we are."

"But if you never get hurt…."

"Everyone gets hurt and humans are social beings we need closeness and love. One day when he's better Kai will realise that and luckily for him Hilary will still be around, she loves him too much to give up on him."

"Really?" Tala sounded amused so Tia sent him a glare

"Yeah but don't tell him that"

"I won't but I feel kinda bad about it all, I said some pretty unforgivable stuff…." Tala trailed off feeling strange talking to Tia about all this.

Tia could tell that Tala needed comforting, she was nervous, she wasn't good at this sort of thing. Usually she would step back and allow someone else to do the comforting but unfortunately she was the only one there. "I'm sure that whatever you said can't be as bad as…."

"I told him that I hope he did die but that again if he did I wasn't sure we'd be able to tell the difference. I also said that he'd probably be better company when he was dead as well"

"Well that was….harsh!"

"Yeah"

"You ought to go back and talk to him"

"I know but I'm having trouble even looking at him"

"You probably just hate to see him so weak"

"That's not the reason, I know its selfish but…. Seeing him like that just reminds me that I could be there soon, knocking at deaths door waiting for him to answer."

Tia could never remain serious for long so she said blithely "Well it's like I always say, Don't knock at deaths door, ring the doorbell and run away, he hates that!"

Tala turned an incredulous look on his face and gazed into her eyes, she was biting her lip, he felt that he shouldn't be sitting having fun while Kai was so ill but couldn't help it, the two of them burst out laughing.

"That's a really dumb joke!"

"Told by a dumb person to a dumb person so it's ok! Tala go back, talk to Kai, you need to make amends before something happens and you're too late."

"Yeah thanks Tia"

"Don't worry about it and if Hilary shows up I'll tell her what Renaldo said but I'm being discharged today so she probably won't come."

"You're leaving hospital? Is your leg well enough?"

"No but I can't stand it here, I still have to have physiotherapy but I can get Hilary or my cousin Jerome to drive me back for that. I just hope Hilary's OK."

Tala felt bad that instead of continuing to search for Hilary he had stayed here to talk with Tia "Do you have any idea where she could have gone to?"

"None, sorry"

When he went Tala left behind a very concerned girl lying in the hospital bed. Tia was more worried about her friend than she had chosen to let Tala see, when Hilary was upset she would often not think clearly and rush into dangerous situations without thinking.

"Please be alright Hilary" she whispered "I need you just as much as they do."

--

Hilary drove carefully through the streets, what Kai had said really upset her and she was angry. This was all her grandfathers fault, he had lied to her for years, pretended to be a good and kind granfather but in reality he was a monster.

She wanted revenge, she wanted to make sure he knew just what she thought of him and she wanted to make sure he could never hurt anyone again.

She arrived at her destination, a large house owned by Tatibana Inc. She knew who would be inside and she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

At the gate she got out of the car and walked up the long driveway, she was nervous as hell, her palms were sweaty and her heart was pounding. At the doorway she exhaled and before she could rthink twice about what she was doing she rang the doorbell.

* * *

Ok Millie is a little like Hinata Hyugga here (from Naruto for those of you who don't know) but she always was going to be very shy.

Who has worked out whats going on?

And who has Hilary gone to visit, looks like another cliffhangr guys I swear I'l be back ASAP!

R&R


	36. Treatment

Hey people, this is a rather Hilaryish chapter but we get some major plot leaps here. A lot happens and I hope you will all like it.

I also hope you all got that Brady is the bad guy here (not by choice though), well he's about to get worse.

I'm going away for a few days and will be entirely without internet access. NOOOOOO!!

I apologise in advance but it can't be helped, I am sooooooo sorry. But I do expect lots of reviews when I get back!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

It was a while before anyone answered the door, standing on the doorstep Hilary began to regret coming here. She wasn't sure what she was really planning to do, in truth there wasn't anything she could really do. In fact it would probably be better for her to just get out of here, really it would be better if she just turned around and ran as…..

"Hello…. Hilary!" The man who answered the door sounded shocked, as though he really didn't believe who he was looking at.

The young girl gave a nervous smile "Hey Mr Rimmer"

The elderly man smiled welcomingly "Come in, come in. It's so good to see you again"

"I just wondered how the kids are doing, you know since the funeral" at that moment Pete ran up behind his grandfather and grinned cheekily at Hilary, she smiled back "Hi Pete"

"Have you brought me anything?"

"Peter!" Mr Rimmer sounded shocked but Hilary just laughed "you shouldn't ask like that, go tell your grandmother that Hilary's here" he beckoned her in

Hilary smiled as she followed them into the house, she had always felt so welcome here. Suddenly she was glad she had come, all the problems she was suffering from all the insults she had received were soon forgotten. She missed all this, ever since she had learned of her grandfathers involvement with Voltaire and Boris she had felt as though she had lost her family. She no longer trusted any of them but these people were family and she trusted them, after all these people **could **be trusted.

--

"Hilary's been missing for how long?" Lying back on his bed Kai stared at Renaldo

"Ever since she left here about three hours ago, you know when you two argued with each other."

"And she's in danger?"

"Very much so, we need her back, we need her safe."

Kai felt his heart sink, if only he hadn't argued with her, shaking his head he looked back up at his friend "Well are you even trying to find her?"

"What do you think?" Renaldo sounded insulted "Just because you don't care enough about her to get up off that bed and….." before he could say anymore a new voice joined the conversation

"And that's the problem" Tala stood smirking leaning against the doorpost "He does care but he can't actually get up off the bed"

"Shut up" Kai hissed

"I know I'm right, after I left the hospital I started to think about it. The reason why you said 'Well it's a bit late for that now isn't it?' and then the reason why you lay down instead of sitting up, you don't have the energy to get up do you?"

Kai remained silent

"Is this the truth?" Renaldo enquired

More silence

"I'm so sorry Kai" Renaldo stared at the ground

The silence had answered them as Kai continued to stare out into the distance.

"I didn't mean what I said earlier" Tala admitted staring at his feet "I…well you know…."

"Yeah" Kai nodded and making it easy on his friend, they exchanged small smiles

"So we cool?" Tala asked in the traditional guy way

"Yeah" Kai closed his eyes nodding slowly and answering in the traditional guy response "we're cool"

--

"So I just thought I'd come to visit and see how things are going!" Hilary smiled at the small kid in front if her, he looked sombre looking as he gazed up at her. "I also brought you these" she held out two new beyblades (courtesy of Kenny) "they were made specifically for you and Ben"

"Wow thanks Hilary" the eldest child took his and turned it over wondrously "I'll give Ben's to him when he's a little better at launching"

"You keep it safe till then" Hilary was happy to see the young boy so happy as she turned back to Mr and Mrs Rimmer "He looks well"

"They both are, Ianto's death hit him hard but Peter's doing well all things considered and poor Ben doesn't even remember his father, or mother…." Mrs Rimmer trailed off and immediately Hilary felt bad this woman had lost her daughter and son in law all because of her grandfather

"I didn't mean to upset you…"

"You didn't" Mr Rimmer took his wife's arm in a comforting gesture "but no parent should ever have to bury a child."

"I heard at the funeral my grandfather was applying for custody and wanted to see if I could help you two in any way. As you both work for Tatibana Inc I knew it would be hard for you…."

"Oh no" Mr Rimmer said with a cheerful grin "you're friend Mr Hiwatari sorted all that out for us. Such a polite young gentleman we thought he was."

"S…Sorry? What are you talking about?" Hilary stammered out as she looked at the smiling couple

"Oh we assumed you had something to do with it" Mrs Rimmer said her smile faltering "that young Mr Hiwatari said he knew you and had heard that Arthur was looking for a better paid position away from Tatibana Inc."

"Didn't you say something to him?" Mr Rimmer sounded perplexed

Hilary noticed that they were looking confused and wanted to quell any worries they had "Oh I did mention it to him but I didn't know he'd do that"

The couple nodded understandingly their smiles returning to full wattage "The job is just what I need, well paid, and it means that we'll be moving up north closer to our side of the family"

"And the house and car that he's provided are amazing. We've talked to our lawyer and he's so sure that this will help our case for custody. We can almost guarantee we'll win custody of the two boys"

Stunned but happy Hilary suddenly wanted to cry, she had almost forgotten about Ianto and his kids over the last few days but Kai hadn't forgotten he had sorted it all out. He had guaranteed that Ianto's children would be kept away from her grandfather.

"Are you alright Hilary?"

Snapping out of her reverie Hilary smiled at the couple "Yeah everything's fine!" She shook her head and grinned "I'm just tired, I've been really busy recently"

"So…. is there anything we can get you…"

"Oh no thanks!" Hilary laughed "I'm headed to Russia in two days time and I just wanted to see you all before I left. I'm so happy that…. that Kai was able to help you"

"So are we, are you sure we can't get you anything, would you like something to drink?"

"No…." Hilary quickly shook her head and pulled herself up off the sofa "There's something about to happen and I've got to get back to it! Now I know you're going to be OK I really ought to get back to work. Lots to do before we go to Russia"

--

Sitting in her car at the red lights Hilary rested her head on the steering wheel, why had Kai argued with her like that? He didn't even know that family so the only reason why he would help them would be because of her. So why had he tried to make her hate him so much?

"Wait" she almost shouted as the lights changed "that's it"

Behind her one of the drivers started honking his cars horn jumping into action Hilary put her car into gear and drove forward.

"That **stupid, ridiculous, cold, dense, senseless, foolish, dim, thick, obtuse**" running out of insults Hilary turned onto another road and swore at one of her fellow drivers. The man made an appropriate response with his finger and Hilary still furious returned the gesture.

"I am going to KILL KAI" She announced to her dashboard fully determined to follow through on her threat as she made her way back to the lab. "how dare he? How dare he do that to me? did he honestly think it would be in the least bit helpful to me to think he didn't care? Oh yes he probably did because he is such an arrogant, idiotic, insensitive, pig headed…."

--

Walking through the corridors Hilary grinned to herself, she was a lot less angry now, she was no longer so upset either. Thanks to him Ianto's children were safe without having to reveal that she knew who Horatio was. She was beginning to feel a little kinder towards Kai now, slightly less like she wanted to hurt him.

As she walked into the lab she could see the other Blitzkrieg Boys all getting their blood samples taken ready for the EMP test. She looked around

"Where's Kai?" she asked Renaldo quietly

"He's in his….Hilary? OH MY GOD we've been looking for you everywhere!" Renaldo grabbed the girl by her shoulders and stared at her.

"Obviously not everywhere" Hilary chuckled a little "Hey, why were you looking for me?"

Renaldo paused, he didn't want to worry her and he knew that the minute she found out Millie had almost been hurt because of her she wouldn't be to happy. "I just thought you ought to stay here where it's safe. In case you hadn't noticed, the other day you were in a car chase. And you left in a bit of state, Tala said you and Kai had an argument"

"We did!"

"Look Hilary whatever Kai may have said…….."

"Don't worry about it" She cut in, not waiting for him to finish "I know, where is he?"

"In his room, I asked him to get some sleep but he doesn't seem to want to, can you talk to him? He may listen to you."

"Sure" Hilary turned to go then stopped as Renaldo grabbed her arm

"Hilary we're gonna have the EMP device ready in five hours"

Hilary nodded "I see."

"Are you OK?"

She shook her head a little and grinned at him "Yeah! Look need to talk to him so just make sure no one comes in for a while, OK?"

"Ok, just make sure he stays in bed. He needs rest" Renaldo gave a silly salute before Hilary walked away.

Outside Kai's room Hilary grinned, Renaldo had been right, the stoic blader was sitting in the armchair next to his bed and polishing his Beyblade. He looked exhausted but was refusing to allow his eyes to close

"Hey Kai" Hilary walked in and took his Beyblade from his hand totally ignoring his protestations

"Hilary I was just…..What are you doing back here I thought I said…."

"Oh shut up" Hilary placed the beyblade on the table beside his bed

"Excuse me?" Kai sounded surprised but Hilary didn't care about that

"I said shut up, I have something I want to say to you"

"And it's so important?" Kai crossed his arms huffily and turned to stare out of the window "I already told you I…"

"And I told you to shut up. I want to say thank you" Hilary moved in front of him and placed a hand on his cheek making him look at her "I know what you did for Ianto's kids"

"Oh that?" Kai looked embarrassed "Well…well I thought it would stop you whining about…."

Kai was cut off as Hilary placed her lips on his, it was a soft chaste kiss that only lasted for about two seconds but it spoke volumes.

"Don't pretend not to care ever again" she told him "Kai I….."

"Hils" Kai muttered pulling away from her "don't"

"Why not?"

"Tell me when I wake up"

"And if you don't?" she dropped her gaze to the floor

"Then it would be better if it was never said" Kai weakly pulled himself up and stood so that he was right in front of her, all he had to do was move his arms and he could hold her. He didn't though, he didn't want to hurt her by loving her and then having to leave her.

"Better for who Kai? Better for you because you don't have to feel guilty? In case you hadn't noticed you're the one that'll end up dead and I'll be the one that gets left alone to cope with the fact that I never got to….," she trailed off, Kai placed one hand under her chin trying to force her to look at him but she refused to do so continuing to stare down at the ground

"Do you really believe that?" Kai asked "Would it not be better, easier for you if nothing had ever happened between us?"

"No" she whispered burying her head in his chest, above her Kai smiled, he couldn't help it that was exactly what he had wanted to hear.

"Hilary" he whispered as he moved her head (successfully this time) so that they were looking into each others eyes, "I wish I could promise that I would be with you forever, I wish I could promise that I'll always be there but I can't. Do you know what would be my ideal life?"

"Beyblading from dusk till dawn?" Hilary giggled as she replied

"Well yeah" he admitted chuckling "as long as at dawn when I woke up the first thing I saw was you, as long as at dusk when I went to sleep I held you in my arms." as if to demonstrate his point Kai slipped an arm around her waist, he moved his free hand up to her chin brushing his fingers along her jaw line and affectionately pushed her face up so that her eyes met his. She looked afraid, they both knew what was going to happen next.

"I said this wouldn't happen again" she whispered softly

"I know" he whispered mockingly holding her chin and brushing his thumb over her lips

"I meant it" she tried to sound firmer but failed miserably as she felt him move closer.

"I know that too" he tightened his one armed hold on her waist and felt her inhale sharply, "you came to me just now"

"I just wanted to talk" Hilary found breathing a struggle, he was so close and even though she knew he was weaker than ever before, she had never before felt so over powered

"I've never been much of a one for talking" Kai told her with pseudo gravity

Fighting the urge to laugh Hilary smiled as she told him "I need you to let go of me **now**!"

"I'm not gonna do that, while I have the power to hold you I'm **never **gonna do that"

His fingers were so gentle, his eyes so full of feeling **very **unusual for Kai. Unable to stand it any longer she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Who needed to talk? There was no real need for words right now, they each knew exactly how the other felt, it was a moment of pure happiness for them both. Soon Kai was unable to hold himself up and suddenly slumped forward. Hilary managed to grab him and help him back onto the bed

"Kai?" she looked at him her face filled with worry

"Sorry I'm just feeling very tired" he gave her a half smile, the left side of his mouth quirking up making her smile back

"Yeah you ought to get some sleep,"

She kissed him on the cheek and turned to go but as she did so his hand on her arm stopped her.

"Stay with me" it wasn't a request but it didn't sound like a command either, it was a statement, a statement of what would happen.

Turning back Hilary saw that his eyes were slightly pleading and so, smiling, she nodded agreeing that she would remain. Kai let his arm drop and Hilary was about to go sit down in the chair he had just vacated when turning back to him she grinned "Move over then"

Kai smiled back but looked confused at her request. "What?"

"Move over" she repeated looking amused.

"Ok" Kai moved over and then realised why she had said to do that when she climbed up onto the bed joining him.

"Renaldo said to make sure you stayed in bed" she giggled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I knew there was a reason I always liked Renaldo" Kai wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled into her hair they remained silent just enjoying being into each others arms. Kai soon slept feeling more comfortable than he had ever done before, it didn't take Hilary long to drop off to sleep either. She was so comfortable and happy being there with him, even as he slept his fingers were playing gently with her hair.

Unlike Hilary Kai only dozed briefly he was extremely tired but a part of him didn't want to waste a single second with Hilary. He smiled down at the young girl in his arms, she was lightly resting her head on his chest. He couldn't quite believe the situation he found himself in, lying comfortably on the bed with her in his arms. He could hear her breathing peacefully, with he noticed, as he brushed her hair away a slight smile on her face.

He was aware of a fierce need to protect her, but not only that he had always wanted to protect her there was something new here. He wondered what it could be then he realised, before it had just been her safety he cared about, her health, rescuing her from dangerous situations now he wanted more. He wanted to make sure that no man ever came near her again, yes it was stupid and irrational but he wanted to make sure she didn't even talk to a guy who might show an interest. He had noticed (even if she hadn't) that there were a number of guys who checked her out at the tournament.

When she and Mariah hung out it was like every male in the room would watch them, they two of the most attractive girls in the championships. Thinking about it he had to admit that both Millie and Tia were very pretty as well, what it would be like when the four of them got together he dreaded to think.

There was no way he was leaving her, he would get the treatment and he was determined that he would survive. All this time he had been afraid of dying but had nothing to live for, now he knew that he had everything to live for. He had her and stupidly he had taken so long to act on his feelings for her, so long denying his feeling for her that he had wasted time. He tensed up angrily as he thought this, in his arms Hilary made a small whimpering sound and he realised he had held her too tight.

Calming down Kai decided to lie watching Hilary sleep, it was about four o'clock. In just over two hours he and the others would be subjected to the EMP and then…..Well no one really knew what would happen next.

Hilary began to stir in her sleep, Kai smiled as he gazed at her she looked so beautiful. Slowly Hilary began to open her eyes, she stretched and smiled up at Kai sleepily, he smiled back and was about to speak when….

**SLAP**

Kai hissed as her hand made painful contact with his face, catching her wrist in his hand he stared at her.

"What the Hell was that for?" His cheek really hurt he had forgotten how hard she could hit.

"Calling me annoying and bossy, and" she paused trying to remember what else he had said "and all the other things you said" she yawned "I can't recall them all right now, but if you ever say anything like that…." smirking a little Kai leaned in and kissed her, silencing her easily.

"I won't ever call you anything like that again, I **promise**"

"Good" she snuggled sleepily into his chest, Kai gently ran his finger up and down her arm "Stop it, that tickles" she protested giggling

"Someone will be in here in a minute to take me to the place where we will have the treatment" he whispered into her ear

Hilary's face fell and propping herself up she looked over at the clock, "Shit" she sighed and lay back down onto his chest "I should have stayed awake."

"Don't worry about it. It's going to be OK!"

"Promise?" she asked half-heartedly

"I Kai Hiwatari promise you Hilary Tatibana that everything will be fine"

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep" she told him kissing his chest gently "just let me enjoy being here with you. And don't say my full name like that, I kind of hate being a Tatibana right now. What's the easiest way to change a name?"

"Get married?" Kai offered

"Anyone else might think that was a proposal" Hilary giggled

"I didn't….Yeah well…. I" Kai fumbled for words and Hilary laughed even harder

"Don't worry Kai" she leant up and kissed his lips stopping his mumbled protestations "I was only joking!"

"Phew" he wiped his brow with exaggerated relief, Hilary punched his arm

"Shut up" she kissed him on the cheek. "you're an idiot"

"I know I am"

"Really? You admit it?" she looked up at him surprised

"Yep! Because if I wasn't an idiot I would have done this years ago." Kai leant down kissed and her.

--

Renaldo watched as his fellow scientists talked excitedly, for them this was it, the result of weeks of work and study. He watched as they walked around making adjustments to notes and rewriting figures on clipboards. Finally after everything had been prepared Brady called them all together

"We've all worked hard here, now no doubt you are all interested in the process as it's highly experimental. I would ask that you treat this with sensitivity, my niece and her friends will be here and we need to be careful. Now I need you all to prepare the room where we set up the large low-inductance capacitor bank "

"Don't we need to give the boys the lithium solution…."

"I'll do it, that way there will be no more mistakes"

"Yes sir" there were nods from the group and they scurried around doing their jobs.

Brady watched them working for a moment and then walked out of the room. As he looked down at the notes that had been made he wondered about what he could do. His father still had his wife and child prisoner, if none of the blitzkrieg boys died before the EMP was set off there would be nothing left to study and god knew what would happen to the two most important things in his life.

He first gave Tala, Spencer and Ian the injection, he had a simple plan to ensure that someone died. He would give Kai another overdose, no one would notice and no one would think that it was odd if he started to enter the final stage and die before the treatment. And so it was that the first three boys received the correct and safe amount of the medication.

Silently dreading his next act he made his way to Kai's room next and was surprised that his knocking produced some muffled exclamations and strange noises on the other side of the door. Finally Kai had allowed him in and he found Hilary standing by the bed. Part of him was relieved but his heart seemed to drop to his feet as he stared at the brunette, there was no way he could 'accidentally' give Kai to much of this stuff and Hilary would be watching him like a hawk.

He walked up to Kai and gave him the injection, he didn't seem to see or hear anything that was said to him as he walked away. That was it, there was no way he could save his family now….

Unless…..

He stood outside the last door in his hand were two needles, one would administer and almost lethal dose to Bryan which would mean that he would die well before the treatment started and in the other was the correct medication.

Sighing he opened the door.

--

"He's acting weird" Kai hissed to Hilary as his bed was wheeled down the corridor towards the room

"He's just a bit weirded out by all this, he doesn't want anyone to die"

"I guess" Kai sighed feeling a strange mix of exhaustion and energy overtake him "this is odd. I feel sleepy but awake at the same time"

"Kinda like when you've been awake to long right?" Hilary asked

"Yeah, just like that" Kai agreed

"It's completely normal"

Kai's bed was wheeled into a room like a hospital ward, Tala, Spencer and Ian all lay on their beds waiting for him and Bryan to join them.

Kai's bed was put into place beside Tala's and they all exchanged nervous looks,

"Hilary good to see you back" Tala grinned at the girl looking from her face to Kai's

"Yeah…" Hilary was stopped from saying more as Bryan was wheeled in, he looked sleepily at them then suddenly his body began shaking

For a split second Hilary froze, then jumping into action she ran forward "He's entering the next stage!" she yelled trying to help her hold him down.

One of the doctors ran forward to help her, Bryan continued to fit and Hilary began to worry "Did Kai last this long?" Renaldo asked trying to help hold the shaking body down.

"No!" Hilary began to panic "I think this time it's worse"

"So what do we do?"

Hilary turned to face the team behind her, she had planned to stand by Kai's side during the EMP blast but there was no time to be sentimental, she turned to look at Brady and the other scientists standing by the capacitor bank "Set it off" she yelled to them "do it now!"

The Blitzkrieg boys braced themselves, and Hilary found herself screwing her eyes shut and a strange sensation seemed to fill the room. It was strange almost like vibrations and the electricity shut down. The lights went out and the machines all shut down.

There was an odd silence, the daylight lit up the room in a dismal way

Hilary heard someone shout "Get crash carts ready" leaving Bryans side she ran to Kai's, he was still and his eyes were closed.

"Kai?" she whispered "Come on Kai, don't leave me all alone."

"He'll wake up" a weak voice told her turning she saw that Tala, Ian and Spencer were all awake and staring at her

"He better" she whispered not feeling at all embarrassed, suddenly Kai's face twitched and he began to move

"Finally" Tala called feebly across the room grinning tiredly as he saw Kai awaken,

Kai seeing Hilary standing by him placed a hand on her arm squeezing it reassuringly,

Laughing Hilary pulled back and looked behind her, she smiled as she watched Spencer Ian Tala and Bryan….

"Bryan!" One of the doctors had begun CPR on the only Blitzkrieg boy that hadn't woken up.

Hilary swore as she tore herself from Kai's hold and ran to join the team that stood around Bryan trying to resuscitate him.

"Electricity isn't up yet, there no way we'll get to use the defibrillator anytime soon" Brady explained to them

"Continue CPR" Hilary commanded

"There's no point" Brady told her gently, "everyone stop"

"No!!"

* * *

Be back ASAP!

Ok another little cliff hanger! Sorry!

Hope you liked the KaiHil moments

Please R&R


	37. Survival

I haven't answered you wonderful, wonderful reviewers yet but I might when I can use the internet without paying by the hour!

Thank you all so much!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

**Previously….. **(A/N I know that you never really need me to write what happened previously but meh! I'll do it anyway)

_Laughing Hilary pulled back and looked behind her, she smiled as she watched Spencer Ian Tala and Bryan…._

"_Bryan!" One of the doctors had begun CPR on the only Blitzkrieg boy that hadn't woken up. _

_Hilary swore as she tore herself from Kai's hold and ran to join the team that stood around Bryan trying to resuscitate him._

"_Electricity isn't up yet, there no way we'll get to use the defibrillator anytime soon" Brady explained to them_

"_Continue CPR" Hilary commanded_

"_There's no point" Brady told her gently, "everyone stop"_

"_No!"_

**And now…**

* * *

"No" Tala yelled to them "you have to do something"

"You can't just leave him to die!" Spencer called out

"There's nothing we can do" Brady explained quietly

"No!" Tala yelled weakly, Hilary shot her uncle an angry glare and jumped up to the bed. Placing her hands on the unconscious boys chest she began to count as she pressed down

"1,2,3,4,5" placing her lips over his she breathed oxygen into him

"Hilary" Brady came forward

"1,2,3,4,5" she breathed again

"There's no point"

"1,2,3,4,5, these are my first ever patients Brady" she breathed again

"You can't save them all"

"1,2,3,4,5, I CAN BLOODY WELL TRY!" she was about to breathe again when one of the other nurses came forward and placing her lips over Bryan's breathed into him. Looking up the nurse nodded and smiled. Another nurse came forward and continued compressions, Hilary moved from the bed and looked at her uncle.

"There's no point Hilary, you saw what happened before the treatment even started. He may have died before the device even started up" Hilary shook her head disbelievingly, she couldn't believe he wanted her to give up so easily

"What else can we do?" one of the nurses yelled at Hilary

"He needs a shot of adrenaline" Hilary yelled turning away from her uncle "straight in the chest"

A nurse ran forward with a needle, Hilary nodded to her and watched as she positioned it carefully and jammed it in.

"Come on Bryan" Spencer yelled his team mates joining in trying to resurrect their friend through sheer force of will. They were all sitting up trying to get off their beds fighting with Renaldo and the rest of the scientists who were all trying to keep them in bed.

Hilary joined the team at Bryan's bed, standing close she resumed CPR, thumping her hands down and she was about to press her lips back to his when….

"You know I once had a dream like this" relief filled Hilary and she couldn't hold back the giggle as she pulled back

"Bryan?" Hilary grinned as she heard the harsh whisper, his eyes were open and he squinted as he smiled up at her "You OK?"

"Surrounded by pretty nurses with their hands all over me and you about to give me the kiss of life?" Bryan grinned "I'm very OK!"

"Yeah I can tell you're going to be fine, you're lucky you're ill or I'd hit you" Hilary and the nurses laughed as they all stepped back from the bed smiling

"The others?" he muttered trying to sit up

"Stay down!" Hilary put a hand on his chest "They're fine. You're all going to be all right!"

There were cheers from the other beds as the four who had already awoken fell back relieved. Hilary smiling triumphantly turned to look at Brady, he wasn't there. On a table close to where he had been standing was the Blitzkrieg boys charts, she walked forward something wasn't right. Picking up the charts she looked down at them, there was an odd symbol on Bryans papers along with the note '_Rooksen_?'.

Frowning she gave Bryan a speculative glare "Bryan the medication Brady gave you what colour was it?"

"Green I think, like usual"

"Oh my god" that was wrong, it was all wrong. That meant that Brady had administered more of the Rooksen mixture. That was why Bryan had almost died, Brady had tried to speed up the process inside of him he had tried to kill…. "SHIT"

Everyone watched shocked as Hilary swearing violently ran from the room ignoring the shouted requests for her return that followed her.

Running down the corridor Hilary was just in time to see Brady leave the building, there were none of the usual security staff around they were all indoors waiting for the electricity to start up again!

"BRADY!" Hilary followed him outside, he was waiting for her, just standing facing the door he had exited waiting for her to follow him

"Believe it or not, I am sorry Hilary"

"Why?" she started to cry, the betrayal of it all twisting her insides. "I thought I could trust you!"

"He has my wife Hilary, my wife and son. I had no choice but to make sure at least one of the Blitzkrieg boys died and then take his body back to my father for testing."

"It wasn't a mistake was it? When you wrote down 200ml of the solution ensuring that Kai had too much."

"It wasn't a mistake"

"You know that I love him, almost everyone seems to know that"

"Hilary I love my wife and son"

"Why didn't you tell us?" she yelled tears streaming down her face "We would've helped you, Renaldo could've.… well he could've done... I dunno something"

"Because of this" Brady pointed to a patch of skin at the base of his neck it had a small scar surrounded by a dark bruise-like mark "he has a device inside of me, he hears everything. He knows they're all alive, he knows you know, he even knows that you're the one that saved them. He's probably listening to this conversation right now, want to tell him anything?"

"I didn't realise, Brady I just…."

"I'm going back to him Hilary, he'll probably kill me but if he's hurt my wife and child I don't want to live for much longer anyway."

"I'm so sorry but I'm not going to let you go, you're…" Hilary wiped away her tears furiously "you're coming back inside…we can work this all out"

"I knew you'd say that, that's why I have my back up plan!"

"Brady…?" he held up a hand stopping her before she could say anything else,

"The coffee you drank earlier was poisoned, it's nothing too bad Hils, morphine hydrochloride, a poison you'll have heard of it."

"Yeah" Hilary nodded fearfully "I have heard of it!"

"Good. There's a needle with the antidote apomorphine hydrochloride, an emetic by Kai's bed. It'll make you vomit up the morphine. Of course if you don't get it in you soon you'll die."

"How can you be so calm about this? You just poisoned me!"

"I only did what was neccesary, thats all" He turned to walk away, he was so calm so relaxed about it all, angrier than ever before Hilary ran forward and grabbed his arm

"No! I won't let you go, I…" she hissed in pain as her arm started to shake and seize up, she wasn't sure if it was fear or a reaction to the drug but it scared her.

Brady paused and looking back for a moment called "Goodbye, I'll miss you….You're, you're so like your father, I'm glad I met you."

Hilary watched him go, her arm continued to shake and the pain and fear got worse causing her to cry out. He wasn't turning around, so she did.

She turned and ran back the way she had come sprinting down the hallway. The brunette ran back into the Blitzkrieg boys room throwing the door open with a crash. The nurses were starting to clear up

"Don't!" she yelled running forward, running to the tray by Kai's bed and searching it

"Hils?" Renaldo looked worried, "What's going on? Where's Brady?"

"Are you OK?" Kai asked looking concerned as he pushed himself up, he was feeling a lot stronger now but it was still a bit of a struggle to move about

"Peachy, Just peachy" Hilary said grinning forcedly as she tried to find the needle, her hands were shaking and beads of sweat stood out on her forehead.

"Are you looking for this?" one of the nurses held out the hypodermic she had found "apomorphine hydrochloride, it kind of stood out, it shouldn't be here"

"Thanks…" Hilary went to take it then dropped to the floor her arm shaking convulsively she clutched it trying to stop the shaking but unable to do anything.

"Hilary!" Kai no longer feeling weak jumped from his bed and pulled her close to him the rest of his team also got down off their beds and surrounded them looking worried, the entire medical team joined them getting more concerned the more Hilary trembled

"Brady" she gasped "injected me with something…. I need that needle it's an antidote! Well sort of," her whole body was shaking now and tears began to fall from her eyes.

"It's alright, you're just scared" one of the doctors dropped beside them with the needle ready "just stay with me. You!" he addressed the nurse who had found the needle "Help Kai to help hold her still"

Kai watched as Hilary's arm was held out and injected with the substance, he held her to him hugging her as her shaking body started to calm and still.

Hilary began to feel sick, it was odd at that moment that the only thing she could think of was - not of her impending doom, or of her betrayal - all she could think was 'oh god Kai's gonna see me throw up!'

Kai held Hilary closer as she held a hand to her mouth. She looked really unwell, one of the nurses crouched down in front of her holding a bowl which Hilary immediately threw up into. She continued to vomit for quite sometime but Kai seemed completely un-phased by it all as he held her close. Finally the sickness passed and Hilary sighed sounding exhausted, Kai watched worriedly as her eyes closed involuntarily and her head lolled back against his chest.

"Is she going to be OK?" the concern in his voice was evident but he didn't give a damn who heard, he just needed to be sure she was going to make it.

"She'll be fine" the nurse smiled at him "but she'll be badly dehydrated we need to get her into bed and get her on a drip, just to be in the safe side."

Groaning Hilary shifted in her sleep, she felt oddly comfortable and secure. There was an unexpected warmth radiating around her. The memories of what had happened came flooding back and she groaned thinking about how she had been betrayed, then she smiled remembering how Kai and the others had woken up and while everything was not resolved Kai was alright and would be for…..

"Hello?"

The low whisper surprised her, she knew that voice! She tried to force her eyes open, but it was a struggle "Kai?" finally opening her eyes she was surprised to find herself in a white room on a large hospital bed lying in the crook of Kai's arm "What the hell is going on?"

"Brady poisoned you with something"

Hilary grinned up at him and moved so that she could see his eyes "I know that bit, I was just wondering why we're in bed together….again! Not that I'm complaining!" she laughed and cuddled him a little closer

Kai smiled slightly as he wound his arms around her waist "I didn't want to leave you"

"Surely people thought that was a bit odd!"

"Hn" shrugging Kai let his head fall back against the pillow and closed his eyes pretending not to be bothered

"And he's grunting again! Oh Joy!" Hilary crossed her arms angrily

Kai chuckled and Hilary moved to punch his am, Kai caught her fist with one hand and pulled her hand over his shoulder so she was embracing him. She looked flustered as he leant down to whisper in her ear "No one knows I'm actually in the bed."

"OK but if you get found here…."

"I won't. The boys all went 'celebrating' I think Renaldo said something about free drinks at his club. I said I didn't want to go and I'd wait around until you felt better"

"I'm glad you stayed"

"Hilary...we owe you so much" he told her running a hand through her hair and playing gently with the strands

"No you don't" she argued feeling angry that he was giving her too much credit

"You saved us all, thank you."

"I had some help" Blushing Hilary tried to pull away but found he wasn't letting her go "Anyway I was just returning the favour." Hilary looked up into his eyes, he had such amazing eyes she was sure she could get lost in them if she continued to…. She shook her head trying to concentrate. "So what happens now?"

Kai stared back at her "What do you mean?"

"I….I don't know where to start" she shook her head unsure of how much she should tell him "there such a lot to think about."

"Just tell me everything that's bothering you."

"You really want to know? It's a lot of questions to deal with"

"You and I almost died today, I think I can deal with whatever you have to ask"

"Well I warned you!" Hilary sat up and took a deep breath "First there's us, what happens with us? Are we a couple now? I'd like that but, Kai I can't deal with the paparazzi, if we're a couple they'll trail us and I don't want to spend the first weeks of our relationship being hounded. And telling the others, Tyson, Ray, even Max and Kenny may take this badly, and we can never tell them if we slept together. I know Ray would go absolutely crazy! Then there's my family, oh my god my family! My cousins were really strict when they found out I was friends with you, if they found out we were dating and our grandfathers….Kai!"

Amused but slightly annoyed that she was questioning it all too much Kai had begun to kiss her neck, when she still didn't stop talking he moved to nibble on her ear. Though she didn't really feel like stopping him she needed answers so she tried to push him away.

"Don't!" she protested weakly

"You're worrying to much" he whispered

"Because of our grandfathers we both almost died just now, how can I be worrying to much?"

"Because there is nothing to actually worry about. If you want we can wait, announce the fact that we're dating officially after the games are over. We can tell the others whenever you feel ready to, I can deal with the boy's especially Ray - but I don't think I like the _if _we sleep together comment - and as for our families who cares? you and I are together and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Alright?"

Hilary propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him "And?"

"And what?"

Hilary pushed herself up into a kneeling position and Kai followed suit, they knelt staring at each other, him smirking and her looking annoyed "What are we? You said we were together so are we a couple now? Are we…."

"It's simple" Kai told her still confidently still smirking "You're mine, and no other man is ever allowed to touch you."

Hilary gave him an odd look, she wasn't sure that she liked the possessiveness, she did like being Kai's but she didn't want him to think he could just claim ownership over someone.

"Well if I ever get stuck in a burning building I can only hope that there are some female fire fighters around"

"Hilary!" he groaned humourlessly

"And then when I finally become a doctor just think of all those patients of mine that are likely to be men. They are just going to have to go without medical aid"

"That's not funny" Kai grabbed her shoulders his smirk long gone "stop it!"

"I'm just saying" she grinned happy to have annoyed him a little, it was odd to see him react, he got a strange flash in his eyes when she bugged him "there are some situations where a man may need to…."

Kai leaned in and kissed her, at first Hilary tried to push him off again but soon she gave up and just wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. Kai smirked inwardly as the girl he had fallen for rested her slender arms around him, he closed his eyes just enjoying the intimacy.

"So are they all OK?" Tyson spoke into his cell phone asking Renaldo the question that the group surrounding him so desperately wanted the answer to.

The old team were all there, Ray, Max, Kenny along with Mariah, Tia, Millie and Daichi stood listening in too. They all held their breath as Tyson asked the question and watched his face trying to see what the answer was.

Finally grinning Tyson gave his friends the thumbs up gesture and everyone cheered, jumping up and down the group shared hugs and were chattering excitedly when Tyson asked worriedly

"Oh my god, is she OK?"

There was silence again and Tyson nodded a few times before hanging up

"Is who OK?" Ray asked concerned

"Turns out Brady wasn't the good guy we all thought he was" Tyson explained "He tried to kill Bryan but Hilary stopped him, he then injected Hilary with something. She's OK but she very nearly wasn't."

"Oh my god we ought to go see her!" Mariah immediately jumped up

"Yeah, Renaldo said Kai was with her but we all know he isn't the most sensitive of…." Tyson was cut off as Mariah and Millie after exchanging glances both grabbed their training schedules

"You know what! We all have a meeting to get to in an hour" Mariah yelled "we can't go visit her now!"

"Oh yeah look at that we have loads of training sessions booked after that" Millie agreed

"Don't you have to go pick up Tia as well?" Mariah questioned

"Oh yes!" Millie nodded "Tyson and Max you can help me with that right?"

"Um sure" Tyson nodded not quite sure what help was needed but not wanting to cause Millie to be without the help she needed.

"Definitely" Max grinned at the girl who shyly returned the smile

"Great you two go to the hotel reception I'll be there in a moment!" Millie gave them a grateful smile

"And Ray you and I have a team meeting right now! You go to the locker room I'll meet you there!" Mariah lied ignoring Rays confusion deciding to worry about the little fib later. "And Daichi don't you have a training session with Hiro he won't like it if you're late"

"Well I don't remember any training session" Daichi scratched his head but shrugged "but I always was forgetful."

Everyone was leaving the room to go about their business only Kenny was left. Millie and Mariah exchanged looks

"Um Kenny…. You need to"

"You ought to…."

Kenny sighed "Don't worry I'm not dumb. You want me to leave Hilary and Kai for some alone time right?" Kenny grinned at the girls who nodded in confirmation

"If that's alright?" Millie asked cautiously

"Alright but I doubt anything will happen, Kai's too cold-hearted and Hilary's too nervous about ruining their friendship!" Kenny told them condescendingly

"We can hope!" Mariah huffed crossing her arms angrily "They might finally come to their senses!"

"If they do they better not get up to anything well…. You know" Kenny warned jabbing a warning finger in their direction "Hilary's too nice and I know from Ray she's still…" Kenny trailed off "Well anyway Kai just better watch himself that's all!" He walked out angrily grumbling under his breath about Kai and Hilary.

Amused but slightly confused Mariah and Millie exchanged looks

"What do you think he meant by 'I know from Ray she's still….'?"

"I dread to think" Mariah shrugged, "I know Ray used to be really fussy about who she dated and recently Hilary had to tell him definitely that she was still a virgin, but I can't believe he told the others!"

"He might have"

"I'll have to ask him" Mariah shook her head as the two of them headed to the door, before they left the room Millie grabbed Mariah's arm

"Still the idea of Kenny taking on Kai! I mean that's just too funny!" Millie began to giggle and the two girls were laughing hard as they walked out of the room.

Brady stood in the doorway of his fathers house trying to get up the courage to ring the bell. He was back at the family holiday home, he didn't know if his father would be there but he did know that the minute he showed his face here his father would hear of it.

Half an hour he had stood there

Half an hour of pure fear, torture and dread

Half an hour wondering whether he would even leave here alive

Finally he raised his hand and rang the doorbell.

"Master Brady"

"Hello Fritton" the family's butler hadn't changed at all, his rigid countenance didn't show any of the wonder he was evidently feeling as he looked at the man he had thought was dead.

"I need to see my father"

"Of course sir, he's due here this evening"

"I need you to call him, tell I'm here."

"At once sir" the butler bowed and walked away

It was just over two hours later when Horatio Tatibana walked into the library where his youngest son sat. Brady didn't even bother to look up as he grunted out a greeting.

"Anyone would think you weren't pleased to see me again"

Brady kept his mouth shut and his eyes closed as his father stared down at him.

"Am I to assume that you have failed?"

Still Brady remained silent, slowly he opened his eyes but remained still staring at his hands

"You know what this means don't you?"

"Plan A?" Brady asked fearfully

"Indeed"

"No" Brady stood finally meeting his fathers gaze "Hilary doesn't deserve to be pulled into this"

"It's too late for that, by helping the Blitzkrieg boys she sealed her fate."

"Father…please"

"Who survived?" Horatio sat down in his chair

"I beg your pardon?" Brady asked confused "surely you know…." he felt at his neck where the bug had been implanted "You must have heard…"

"We haven't been able to hear anything from you in weeks" Horatio grinned as his son reacted to the news, Brady sunk back down into the chair holding his head in his hands. "we had no idea what was going on"

Brady felt his heart twist inside of him, he could have told Renaldo everything, they could have worked on a way to save the team all together and then found a way to get to his wife and son. Hilary would never have looked at him like she did, that look of pure hate and anger. He wouldn't have had to try and kill Kai and Bryan

"Besides" Horatio sounded even more amused "that EMP they set off - yes we do know about that, all the electricity going off in a small area was a little obvious - it would have shorted the mechanics in the bug anyway. You could have done anything"

The groan that Brady gave was filled with pain and sorrow, tears were actually falling from his eyes as he thought of all he had been forced to do.

"Well this was fun" Horatio stood to leave the room "we must do it again sometime" he stood and walked over to the door, he seemed to be actually relishing in his sons misery however as he got to the door he paused. Looking back he felt a small stab of guilt.

Outside Fritton the butler waited for instructions "Sir?"

Feeling somewhat old Horatio decided to do something to ease his heavy heart "Send them in to him"

In the depths of him misery Brady was vaguely aware of his fathers mocking voice as he left the room. He didn't even have the energy to question him as the older an left the room. He heard the door close behind his father and found himself sinking onto his knees overwrought with the guilt he felt. He had never actually killed anyone but he had also never before even tried to kill someone.

The door opened again and a small pair of legs ran quickly across the floor

"Daddy!"

Looking up Brady began to sob as his son ran into his arms, he held him close almost crushing the young four year old in his arms, looking up he could see his wife pale and tired but otherwise completely unharmed. Loosing one arm from his son he held it out to her and she knelt on the floor joining them on the floor, holding his family in his arms Brady felt more complete than he had in a long time. He buried his face in his wife's soft hair and thanked god, - or whatever other higher being had protected them - for allowing this reunion to happen.

Brady vowed that this time he would find a way out, this time he wouldn't help his father he would do the right thing, and he would get his family away to safety.

* * *

Ok guys there isn't an urgent cliff-hanger here but there is a hint of more to come, and all those of you who were waiting for the 'what happened when Hilary was a kid thing' to be resolved I promise you will understand it all eventually.

Love ya all!

Please R&R


	38. New plans

Wow mixed responses to the last chapter but hey everyone's a critic!!

Still thanks for the reviews people! And please everyone know that you don't have to read bits you think are inappropriate because no major plot changes will happen during them!!

Thank you all so much for reviewing, I have managed to get to the internet café once more yay, (although I managed to get my dad to drive me this time) so here's another chapter for your delectation and delight!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"OK so if we have a team meeting now where is everyone?" Ray sounded dubious as he looked around the locker room

"Well…." Mariah trailed off

"Well what?"

"Well the truth of the matter is we don't have a meeting" Mariah admitted twisting her hair around her fingers

"What's going on Mariah?" Ray gave the girl a highly suspicious look

"Ummmm" Mariah paused "I wanted to talk to you about something" the twisting of her hair continued as she tried to think of a different lie.

"What?" hands on hips Ray stood over his girlfriend he didn't like it when he thought that she was being less than honest and he could always tell when she was lying, she twisted her hair in her fingers just like she was doing now

Mariah looked up and gave up "I made up the thing about us having a meeting"

"Why?"

"I have something very important that I want to talk to you about"

"What?"

Mariah paused ransacking her brain trying to think of something… anything to say!

--

Hobbling out of the hospital on her crutches Tia breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't like being stuck inside and she was thrilled to be finally leaving. It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies and barely a cloud in sight!

"We're over there!" Tyson pointed to where he had parked his car

"Are you sure you're ok to walk?" Millie asked worried about her cousin

"I'm fine Mils!" Tia groaned walking away from the hospital and quickly following Tyson to the car "Can we stop for coffee somewhere? I am in serious need of caffeine! Those so called 'nurses' refused to let me have anything decent to drink!"

Biting her lip nervously Millie tried to argue with her "Please Tia we ought to get you back…." When Tia completely ignored her Millie began to look very upset

"Don't bother" Max laid a hand on Millie's arm "she'll be fine. We'll just go for coffee then head for the hotel." He smiled brightly at her in a reassuring way, he didn't like to see her so distressed.

Shaking her head Millie agreed "A-Alright, I guess I'm just a little overprotective of her right now."

"She's a big girl Millie!" Max grinned at the blonde as she gave him a withering look

"I know that! but she did get stabbed recently"

"Really?" Max pretended to be surprised "I hadn't noticed"

He was pleased to see that he earned a small smile from the blonde "Oh Sarcasm!" Millie punched him lightly on the arm, the two of them laughed as they followed Tyson and Tia to the car.

--

Tia grinned as she watched Millie and Max standing at the coffee shop counter, they were talking and laughing together enjoying each others company. She was sitting along at the table while they ordered waiting for Tyson to come back from parking the car. She gave them a speculative look, sitting back in her chair and staring them both up and down.

"Cute couple right?" Tyson had finally joined her and was smiling slyly

"Yeah!" Tia nodded in agreement "he just better not hurt her" Tia frowned as she looked at the two of them "If he does I'll kick his ass"

"Max would never do that he's too nice" Tyson sighed "I'm more worried about her hurting him, he had a….. well he had a bad experience recently"

"I know I saw it in the magazines, don't worry though Millie wouldn't do that, for one thing **she's **too nice and for the another…. she's absolutely smitten!"

--

Over at the counter Max and Millie were having a long conversation about the upcoming games, Max had recently discovered that when they got to Russia he and the rest of the PPB All Starz would be up against team BEGA.

"You must be worried about it, after all they're pretty stiff competition"

"I am a little worried but…" he shrugged "what can I do?"

"Well if you like we could train together, I've always got loads of time on my hands!" Millie was surprised at how easily she was talking to her crush, they were having an actual conversation and she wasn't stuttering at all, she must be getting braver, right? "I-I mean i-if you want to" Ok so she was stuttering a little, then again she always stuttered!

"That'd be great!"

The barista arrived with their drinks and Max turned to take the tray Millie smiled to herself, normally there would have been a point where she flushed pink and started to feel flustered in Max's company but to her surprise she didn't feel like that. Was it possible she no longer had a crush on him?

Then it happened, he turned back to face her and smiled, immediately her legs had that same jelly like quality that she used to get. She definitely still liked him! She was just able to talk to him now without totally freaking out inside.

"So is Tia coming to Russia with us?"

"I dunno she might…." Millie's head jerked up and her eyes fixed on something behind Max. "Oh No!"

"What?" Max surprised at the fear and anger in her eyes turned to see what had upset her

"Millicent Davis?" behind Max stood a tall man with long dark blue and purple hair, he was an attractive man, well built, but there was something in his smile that made Max uneasy and still holding the tray he moved instinctively in front of Millie

"Is everything OK Millie?" Max enquired not taking his eyes off the newcomer

"Who's this?" the man looked at Max amusedly "You got a boyfriend Millie?"

"It's none of your business" Millie hissed "get out of here now!"

"I can stay here if I like and blondie I should warn you, dating a member of the Davis family is a very bad idea" the man sneered at the two of them "they're all fucking frigid!" He glared at Millie in a menacing way causing Max to get even angrier, Max was about to say something when a voice interrupted

"Everything OK Millie?" Max and Millie looked behind the man to see Tia leaning on her crutches and making her way toward them, even in her invalid condition she was looking incredibly fierce.

"Everything's fine Tia go sit down" Millie told her trying to protect her cousin

"Tia! We were just talking about you" the man turned to grin at her saying sarcastically "You're looking….. well"

"You better get the fuck out of here Jack, that restraining order means you have to avoid my family as well as me" her eyes flashed angrily as she limped forward, Tyson walked up behind her a confused look on his face. He and Max exchanged glances, they weren't sure what was going on but they knew that if anything happened they had each others backs.

"Was that what the restraining order was about?" Jack smiled as he moved towards Tia "you know I never did read the small print on that thing."

"You were obviously too dumb to understand it when it was read out in court" Tia shook her head with artificial seriousness "I kept saying that it was too tough for you to understand, let me repeat in plain English! Stay away from me, my family and my friends or I will make sure you go to prison for a very, very, very, **VERY**, long time!"

"So that's what it all was?" Smiling Jack walked past her and to the door "don't worry Tia, I'm going, just wanted to see how you were doing"

"Whatever" Tia muttered

As Jack got to the door Renaldo and the Blitzkrieg boys (minus Kai) all walked in talking and laughing, they paused when they saw the tense situation in front of them.

"Hey Millie everything OK?" Renaldo asked his eyes surveying the group carefully

"Fine" Millie muttered untruthfully

"Guys I know I said we'd only be here for a second but maybe we should stop here instead of heading for the club" Renaldo said looking around cautiously trying to read the situation

"We're fine, this guy was just about to leave" Tia hissed venomously

"This guy? Do you not remember my name anymore?" Jack sounded amused "And after all those years we were together"

"Leave now or I'll club you to death, after all I always liked the saying about an eye for an eye, a death for a death."

"It's actually a tooth for a tooth…" Spencer corrected her

"Not in my version" Tia informed him smiling evilly

"Very well, I'll go, I'll see you around" Jack teased as he left,

Millie was at her cousins side in an instant "Tia you OK?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Who was that guy?" Max asked "and why do you have a restraining order against him?"

"You know what" Tia told them smiling falsely "I don't really feel like having a coffee anymore"

"Nor me" Millie swiftly agreed "Tyson don't worry about the car we'll get a taxi home, there's a taxi rank over the road"

"What if he's still out there?" Max asked nervously "I don't know what's going on but Millie if he's out there he could hurt you….." everyone stared at Max " ….both," Max corrected himself nervously "he could hurt you both, yeah that's what I meant."

Smiling Millie walked up to Max and pressed her lips on his cheek "Thank you" she whispered before heading out the door with her cousin.

"Well it looks like Max is finally making some progress with the lovely Millie" Renaldo grinned at the blushing boy.

"Shut up" Max muttered watching through the window as the three girls got into a taxi and drove away "but I would like to know more about who that guy was."

"Me too" Tyson muttered darkly

--

Brady sighed as he looked around his old lab, he was back in Russia again, this was quite possibly the last place he wanted to be but…. looking over at his family he smiled, his wife was safe his child was safe and they were all together. Perhaps he could handle being in this lab, in this country if it meant he could have that.

"Sam?" his wife looked up and caught his gaze, she grinned as she saw him "I am sorry…" he started but she shook her head

"Don't be" she pulled her son into her arms and held him close, "none of this is you're fault, you didn't ask to have Horatio as a father, you didn't know what would happen when you asked me to join you here the first time."

"I should have gotten you….both of you out of all this when I had the chance"

"Brady" still carrying her son Samantha moved forward and stood beside her husband "this time we're together and this time we'll make sure you're father and his friend are stopped, I promise"

--

"Hey guys, thank God you're here. I have a real disaster on my hands!" Mariah grinned as Tia and Millie walked into the hotel reception, then seeing their faces she stopped smiling and asked "What's gone wrong now?"

Tia said nothing and just headed for the elevator

"We went for a coffee, Jack was there" Mille told her

"The Jack?" Mariah questioned glancing from girl to girl

"**The **Jack" the blonde confirmed

"Oh boy, that's all we need" Mariah whispered. Tia got into the lift and the doors closed behind her "Is she gonna be OK?"

"I don't know, this was the last thing she needed! She was tough enough in front of him but, in the taxi back here she started to cry" Millie sighed running a hand through her long blonde tresses "She won't talk to me though, I just wish…, I… oh I don't know what to do."

"Maybe we should call Hilary"

"No I don't want to bother her, not if she got hurt…."

"Me neither" Mariah smiled "plus she and Kai might be….well you know!"

"I know!" Millie laughed "but if they are Kenny better not find out"

"Yeah" giggling Mariah nodded then suddenly the laughter stopped and the pinkette stared at her feet

"What's up?" Millie asked worried

"Ok…" Mariah took a deep breath "you know how we were covering for Hilary so I pretended we had a team meeting?"

Millie gave her an odd look before nodding and replying "Yeah I was there! Remember?"

"Oh yeah! Ok well Ray got suspicious so I just blurted out the first thing I could think of"

"Which was?"

"Heh heh heh, Oh god" Mariah ran a hand through her hair "It would have been better to just tell him the truth"

"What happened" Millie asked starting to feel impatient

"I said I was feeling kind of unwell and didn't want to battle"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Ray was curious so I just told him that I was feeling tired and had been sick that morning….." the pinkette groaned as she remembered the conversation "I couldn't have picked a worse thing to say and…." she stopped talking

"And?" Millie prompted after a few seconds had passed

Mariah sighed running a hand through her bangs "He thinks I'm pregnant!"

--

Ray paced around his room feeling increasingly worried, it was obvious that Mariah didn't think she was pregnant but he wasn't so sure. After all even the most affective of birth control was only likely to protect you from situations like this 99 times out of a hundred.

There was no way he and Mariah could beat those odds!!

The door opened and Millie and Mariah walked in

"Hi Ray" Millie grinned at him in what she hoped was a reassuring way "Mariah told me what you think! Well we shouldn't jump to conclusions…."

"And I really don't think I'm pregnant…., I don't feel pregnant" Mariah told him with a grin

"Well we need to know for sure" Ray told her firmly "we need to get a test" he was still pacing up and down the room

"But Ray I really don't feel pregnant and how can any of us buy the test without it appearing in the tabloids tomorrow?" Mariah argued feeling bad that she was making him get so worried after all she knew she wasn't pregnant!

"I don't care, I'm buying a test!" Ray grabbed his wallet and strode purposefully towards the door

"No! Please, please don't!" Mariah ran forward and grabbed his arm "Ray please no! Lee will freak out!" Mariah began to panic at the thought of what Lee would do. "You can't you just can't!!"

"Well if we just leave it don't you think he'll freak out even more when you start growing a baby belly in a few months?"

"I'll get the test" Millie offered, Rays face lit up but Mariah shook her head

"No you'd get photographed too!" Mariah reasoned, "and then you're cousins would want to kill Max!"

"Mariah!" Millie blushed but then a thought occurred to her "Wait I know!" she pulled out her cell phone and dialled a number, after a few seconds the phone was answered

"Hello Renaldo Travis, the most attractive man…."

Millie sighed shaking her head "Shut up, it's only me!"

"I knew that! So Millie is everything OK?"

"Yeah" the blonde sat down still clutching the phone to her ear "Renaldo I need you to help me."

"Anything for you! What is it Mil?"

"You know how you said you owed me a favour"

"Yeah!"

"I'm collecting, I need you to do something and it's got to stay a secret"

"What do I need to do?"

"I need you to buy something for me"

"Uh-huh. Like what?"

"Promise you won't say anything?"

"To who?"

"To anyone!" Millie told him getting increasingly frustrated

"I'm intrigued….so I'll promise"

"I-I need a pregnancy test"

"WHAT?"

"Don't yell!" There was a long pause "Renaldo? Renaldo say something"

"I…I'm actually speechless"

"Well I wanted to do the talking, look just buy one, get to the hotel, I'll meet you at the door and explain everything"

"Can't you get one of your friends to buy it?"

"What a good idea, I'll get one of the world famous - constantly chased by paparazzi - likely to be photographed buying it - beyblading friends to get it."

"Good point, I'll be there in an hour"

Renaldo hung up feeling shell shocked, so much for sweet innocent little Millicent Davis!

--

"I got two so you can double check! So…." Renaldo stood next to Millie in the elevator, they had been silent when they met at the door but finally inside the privacy that their present situation afforded he decided to ask "have you got something to tell me?"

"It's not for me!"

"Sure!"

"It isn't!"

"Ok!" Renaldo spoke teasingly "but look if you are, I'm not judging you"

"Oh for goodness sake I am not pregnant!" Millie yelled

The colour drained from Millie's face as she heard a familiar voice say "That's good to know!"

"Tia!" Millie whipped her head around and stared at her cousin, while she had been arguing with Renaldo the lift had not only stopped but the doors had opened.

"Something you want to tell me?" Tia asked staring at Millie "Millie if you're pregnant then…. God you're lucky Jerome and the others didn't hear this"

"NO there's nothing to tell! Hey! Is there something you wish to tell me?" Millie looked down at the case in Tia's hand

"No"

"Are you leaving? Where are you going?"

"Millie I can't keep mooching off everyone, and now that Jack…." Tia sighed "I can't stay"

"You not only can stay but I insist that you do"

"Sorry to interrupt ladies but….. but who's the pregnancy test for then?" Renaldo asked scratching his head

--

Ray sat in the White Tiger suite on the same couch as Renaldo trying to get his head around what was going on, never before had he felt so nervous. He didn't know what he was going to do if she was pregnant…. well he did know one thing. He would be a good father to his child, and… he… and he, well he'd avoid Lee for a very, very, very looooong time. And Mariah… he gently fingered the small box in his pocket, to propose now would seem forced but to wait….

Millie and Tia both sat in separate armchairs sending each other evil looks, they were both incredibly strong willed and neither of them felt like backing down. Tia wanted to leave and Millie wanted her to stay and join them in Russia. The only reason Tia had stuck around for now was because Millie had told her about Hilary's near death experience and Tia wanted to make sure that her friend was OK!

Renaldo watched as Ray glancing around carefully pulled a small blue box out of his pocket, as he opened it Renaldo caught sight of the small diamond ring. He grinned, in the elevator Millie had explained that the likelihood of Mariah being pregnant was… well it was incredibly unlikely. Oh well in a few minutes Mariah would have taken the test they'd all know that she wasn't pregnant and Ray could go back to proposing in his own sweet way in his own sweet time.

--

Mariah stood in the bathroom waiting patiently, she knew what the result for all this would be, there was no way she could be pregnant, she didn't feel it. Then again when had she had her last period? Oh well there was no need to worry about that her menstruation cycles had always been very erratic!

Finally three minutes were up and she looked down at the stick in her hand.

Wait that can't be right!

Ok stay calm Mariah, it's wrong that's all, you just have to take the other test and prove it wrong.

Another three minutes passed

"Oh shit, no, no, no this can't be right!" Mariah mumbled as the two tests showed a slim pink line, "maybe I read the box wrong!" she walked over to the sink and picked up one of the box's. "Didn't read it wrong, pink **is **pregnant, Oh no" with both the tests in her hand she sank to the floor and started to cry, "Ray was right! Oh **GOD **Ray was right"

"Mariah?" Ray was knocking at the door "You've been in there a while, have you taken the test yet?" Ray gave the others a worried look, he was really nervous now

"Mariah you're worrying me" Renaldo called out "They keep looking at me like they expect me to do something butch like break the door down, you know I can't do butch!"

"Get out of my way" Tia commanded "Mariah unlike the wimp out here I **can **do butch, so if you want the door to stay on it's hinges you better hurry and open up"

"Why is she in there exactly?" the four of them all froze as they heard Lee's voice. They turned smiling falsely. The rest of the White Tiger team were standing behind them

"Um…." Tia tried to think of something but nothing came to her

"She's feeling a little unwell that's all" Millie offered up lamely

"Mariah?" Lee knocked on the door "Open the door, if you don't Gary is knocking it down!"

"I can open the door without knocking it down" Kevin proclaimed pulling a credit card from his wallet

"Do it" Lee ordered but the girls tried to block the small green haired boy

"It's nothing really Lee" Millie lied,

Lee gave Ray a piercing glare making it clear he didn't believe them "Then why were you all threatening to knock the door down?"

"We weren't **all **threatening to do it anyway it was a joke" Tia told them fake laughing the four of them gathered around blocking the door and smiling awkwardly

"Gary move them" Lee commanded and the others found themselves being swept out of the way by the strong blader.

"It's really nothing" Millie protested

"Yeah right" Kevin dropped to his knees and fiddled with the lock, after a few moments the lock clicked and he yanked the door open

"Mariah!" looking in Lee was shocked to see his sister kneeling in the bathroom crying he rushed to her side and was about to hug her when he saw what was in her hand.

--

Still in their hospital bed Hilary and Kai lay together, they were surrounded by complete silence. Enjoying the peace and quiet Kai had the sleeping Hilary in his arms and was staring down at her.

Kai felt… well he felt great! He had, had a lot of girls before but this all somehow felt new, as he lay there he had to admit that this was the best night of his life. He had done something new tonight, (not in kinky way or anything pervs :p) it was the first time he had connected with a girl and it felt amazing. He lay back down on his side and wrapped his arms around her, Kai held the sleeping brunette a little tighter and kissed her hair, she seemed so fragile right now, as though if he held her too tight she would break. He was never going to let her go, he had decided a long time ago that he needed her around and now he was sure that Tala was right, he was definitely in love with her.

Suddenly the silence was broken by the ringing of Hilary's cell phone, Hilary sat upright and shook her head. Seeing Kai she blushed, then looking down at herself she went even redder,

"Hi!" Kai grinned obviously enjoying the situation, Hilary shot him an angry look before grabbing a sheet and covering herself she got off the bed and picked up her phone.

"Hello?" there was silence as Hilary listened to whoever was at the other end of the phone "She's pregnant? How could she be so…." Hilary paused a horrific thought going through her head "Um, I'll be there soon. I have to make a quick pit stop." She hung up "I gotta get back to the hotel" Hilary rushed around getting dressed

"Who's pregnant?" Kai asked getting up off the bed

"Mariah! Kai we need to go before Lee kills Ray"

"How likely is that?" Kai pulled on his clothes

"Given the choking sounds that I could hear? Very likely!"

"So what's the pit stop we need to make?"

"I have to get to chemist," Kai gave her a confused look so sighing Hilary muttered "The morning after pill!"

"Oh right" Kai nodded, "um! Yeah well, you know I really…" Kai was silenced again by Hilary crashing her lips down onto his, in between the kisses he continued to try and talk mumbling out how sorry he was but somehow only ever managing to say "I should've…"

"God you're cute when you're confused" Hilary grinned as Kai's face immediately went stony, after years of knowing the stoic blader it had been easy for Hilary to discover a way to make Kai change his mood.

--

Voltaire sighed as he looked at the photos he had received, given the way the Blitzkrieg boys were walking around in these pictures they were obviously not suffering any terrible side effects. That annoyed him, to be honest he was hoping that they would be suffering a little.

"Disappointed huh?" Voltaire looked up to find Horatio standing in the doorway, he had a glass in each hand "whisky?"

"Thanks" Horatio crossed the floor and handed him his drink, Voltaire took it asking "how did you know what I was thinking?"

"I've known you for many years" Horatio grinned as he sat opposite his friend "I know how you think. But chin up Kai isn't in any of those pictures, Kai could be in a lot of pain somewhere"

"I can dream!" Voltaire shrugged before throwing his head back he downed his drink is seconds, Horatio grinned knowing that this display proved how angry his friend was, normally Voltaire would sip at his drink savouring the taste and the burning sensation that the drink provided.

Voltaire had enjoyed drinking slowly ever since their first drink together, Horatio grinned as the elder of the two it had not been his first drink but it was clear it had been Voltaire's. The man could barely breathe as he spluttered and coughed his way through his first mouthful. Horatio had kindly offered to finish it for him but Horatio had shaken his head and continued to sip away at the drink finally pronouncing his first drinking experience as 'not as bad as he thought it would be' they had only been aged thirteen and fourteen then.

"Brady's back working in the lab again"

"Is he?" Voltaire didn't sound as interested as he actually was, plan A would be difficult to bring together now. His grandson and their friends all knew that he was around and they knew to watch their backs, and lets face it when it came to watching his back Kai was a pro!

They'd have to be very careful

--

Sitting in the white tiger suite Hilary kept an arm around Mariah, she hadn't stopped crying yet. Lee sitting next to her was looking like death, his eyes were filled with anger and if looks could kill Ray would be heading for a very painful death. Almost everyone else had politely excused themselves but Kai remained in the room standing to attention ready to prevent Ray's imminent death.

His eyes never leaving Mariah and Lee Ray sat massaging jaw, Lee had quite a right hook!

"Ok" Hilary spoke in a calming voice "now do we have any idea of how far gone you are?"

"None at all" Mariah whispered

"Alright, now obviously we need to take you out of the competition"

"No" jumping up Mariah shook her head furiously "that's not necessary"

"Mariah" Ray stood up too "in your last battle you got pretty hurt, if that were to happen again it could harm the baby"

"Don't call it that" Mariah yelled "it's not a baby, not yet, it's just a little cluster of cells, it's not a baby yet!"

"Mariah?" Ray looked at her a hurt expression on his face "it's a baby, it's our baby" at this Lee growled but Kai's presence in the room restrained him from annihilating Ray like he wanted to!

"Don't tell her what to say" Lee hissed

"Perhaps we should leave them alone to talk about this" Hilary suggested

"Oh yeah lets leave them alone together" Lee grunted sarcastically "no offence Hilary but it's that kind of thinking that got them into this situation. I mean lets face it this is all you're fault!"

"Lee!" Hilary turned to him surprised "What are you talking about?"

"You and you're '_All you did was cause a lot of humiliation a lot of heartache and make sure that they got a lot of media attention_' this would never have happened if you weren't such a nosy interfering"

"Hey!" Kai's voice was low and forbidding and his tone immediately stopped Lee from saying anymore "don't talk to her like that"

Hilary smiled slightly before turning her attention back to the couple

"Ray it isn't a baby yet" Mariah said

"Do you mean what I think you mean?" Ray asked "because if you do then….then you aren't the girl I thought you were"

"You make me sound like I'm suddenly a different person"

"You're talking like one" Ray stared at her "The Mariah I love doesn't talk like this"

"Then perhaps you ought to leave" she said sounding aloof

"Do you want me to leave?" Ray asked feeling annoyed

Mariah paused and then nodded vigorously, looking and feeling more upset than ever before Ray left the room.

"Mariah?" Hilary started "You're not considering…."

"I might be"

Hilary was astonished "But you can't…."

"You leave too" Lee told her "take your bodyguard and go"

Hilary didn't want to leave Mariah alone with a person who was obviously not at all supportive of her having a baby. Unfortunately both Lee and Mariah told her they wanted to be left alone so she and Kai reluctantly left the suite.

--

Hilary smiled as she sat in reception, she was making a few arrangements for the next day, they were to leave for Russia and while she was looking forward to seeing Kai's home country again she was also annoyed that she had so much to do. Tomorrow morning they would all be checking out and now she was no longer sure what was going on with the White Tigers, she hadn't spoken to Mariah or Ray since she and Kai had left the suite earlier.

It was getting late now well past midnight she guessed but she had managed to convince Hiro that she could do her job at the same time as saving lives and she had been determined to be right. Stretching she finally finished her work and turned off her laptop as she stood she could see the Blitzkrieg Boys walking onto the hotel. Kai had met up with his friends at Renaldo's club, Spencer, Bryan, and Ian were stumbling slightly and Tala was looking abnormally merry.

Kai rolled his eyes as he steered his team into the hotel, god he was tired! After all the drama with Ray and Mariah the last thing he had wanted to do was run around after his team making sure they got home OK but he was the captain! Then he saw Hilary, immediately a smile crossed his face, somehow seeing her made any situation no matter how annoying seem a little more bearable

Bryan and Ian were at collapsing point so Hilary ended up having to help, as she did this she was clearly heard to be muttering something about _I did not save their lives so that they could go destroying their livers!_ She helped Kai guide Bryan from the elevator to their suite. As soon as her job was done she turned and started to leave

"Wait up!" Kai jogged after her "And where do you think you're going?"

"To my room"

"Come to mine" he urged quietly Hilary grinned but shook her head

"No, besides" she looked over at where Tala was trying to drag Bryan though the doorway "he looks like he needs some help. Night boys" she called as she waved goodbye to them

Kai watched as Hilary walked quickly away and up the stairs. He needed to talk to her but Tala wasn't going to let him go now, not while they still had to get the severely blitzed Blitzkrieg boys to bed!.

"So I take it she isn't going to let you have any fun then?" Tala grinned at his friends angry face.

"Shut up and help me get him in" Kai growled

--

Hilary had arrived at her floor, she yawned again feeling very tired, the laptop slung across her shoulder seemed very heavy. She was also very preoccupied, she still didn't understand her relationship with Kai. Why would he be interested in her? He could have any girl he wanted and he had picked her? This was too much for her to think about right now, she had too much to worry about, lire Mariah and Ray! And then there was Tai and Jack, oh God why was Jack suddenly back that was the last thing they needed!

"Sorry," Hilary mumbled sleepily as she bumped into someone, she continued on her way to her door and reached into her clutch bag for her cardkey. It wasn't there! Hilary groaned and started searching her bags pockets thoroughly.

"Missing this?" Hilary spun around, at the end of the corridor Kendall of team thunderbolt stood holding her key.

"I swear I'd lose my head is it wasn't screwed on!" Hilary joked nervously as she walked towards him "thanks!" She went to take the card but he held it up out of reach.

"You have to pay the price," he smirked as her eyes narrowed suspiciously

"What's the price?" Hilary asked nervously she knew about Kendall's reputation and after she had seen him with Millie and what Tia had told her she had been careful to keep her distance and not spend any time alone with him. "How did you get my key?"

"From your bag just now, you should really look where you are going. Now since you ruined my time with little Millicent," he leant in closely "you owe me what I didn't get from her."

"Sorry but I don't go anywhere near guys that I barely know."

"Really? Most girls would love an offer like this"

"I'm not most girls, I'm very different to the girls you're obviously used to, besides I don't like guys that think they're gods gift"

"Perhaps that's why I'm so interested, all the others, even the ones with boyfriends watch me as I walk by, but you don't. You're not as sweet and innocent as Millie but you'll do"

"Oh Thanks" Hilary laughed at this "I'm so sorry I act uninterested, perhaps I just don't find you attractive. And as for the sweet innocent Millie you are never to go near her again, now give me my key!" she was angry but her fear was starting to really take over now. She knew that Kendall had worked for Boris and now she was sure Boris would be wanting revenge for the failure of his plans, Kendall was the last person she wanted to be around!

"You want me."

"Oh my god" She laughed out loud to cover her fear and frustration "you are so arrogant. What makes you say that?"

"Because if you didn't you would go down to the lobby to get another key," he smiled in a egotistical way.

"Actually I just don't like the idea of you having a key to my room, give it to me now!" Hilary glared at the man but he just stood their smiling "Remember I can get you thrown out of this competition"

"No you can't, my sponsor is one of the few that didn't take back their sponsorship money during the times of trouble, Mr D won't let you throw me out whatever the reason. Now I want what I'm owed"

"OH FOR PITYS SAKE! Why are you so obsessed with this?"

"Don't shout someone might hear you!"

"Well good, then I can tell them what kind of a pervert you really are" she opened her mouth to shout again but suddenly a hand covered her mouth and she found herself helpless in Kendall strong unmoving arms. She tried to swing her laptop bag at him but this proved a useless gesture and achieved nothing.

"You want this all girls do!" Kendall pushed her up against the wall, Hilary cried out into his hand as her head smacked painfully up against the wall, "They may say they don't want it but it's the ones who say no that want it the most! You stopped me the other day, now I get my revenge" He placed a hand over her mouth stopping her from shouting for help. He started to move her towards her room door, her key was still in his hand as he started attack her neck.

Hilary began to cry as his mouth landed on her neck, she squirmed angrily her eyes closing as she struggled with him. For the first time that evening she mentally cursed herself on her choice of wardrobe, the pencil skirt she wore prevented her from making her trademark manoeuvre and kicking him in the balls.

Kendall was just beginning to enjoy himself marking up Hilary's neck when a hand grabbed his shoulder roughly and pulled him back so hard that he flew into the wall behind him.

Hilary opened her eyes and almost cried with relief as she saw her rescuer (oh yes you guessed it)

"Kai?" he didn't look at her, he just stood staring down at Kendall

"Hilary get your key and go to your room"

"Kai what….?"

"**Just go**!" Hilary could see that arguing with him would be useless, she picked up her laptop bag from where it had dropped and grabbed her cardkey from the ground where Kendall had dropped it and ran to her door, as she looked back down the corridor she could see Kai turn to make sure she went into her room, waiting for her to be out of the way before he made another move.

--

Kai watched as Hilary sighing opened her door and went into her room, on the floor Kendall looked up at him. "Get up!" he commanded

"Want to tell me what you think you were doing? You shouldn't have interrupted me, I don't like it when I get interrupted." Kendall told him as he stood and brushed himself off.

Kai stared at him this guy was unbelievable!

"If you ever touch her, or any other girl who doesn't want you to ever again I will kill you. Got that?"

Kendall looked into his eyes and laughed "So that's how it is, has the great Kai Hiwatari fallen for little Hilary Tatibana?"

"I know you worked for Boris" Kai hissed "and I will make you pay for what you tried to do to Tala, and Hilary, and Millie"

"Boris is such a fun guy" Kendall shrugged "he had so many fun stories about you and your time at the abbey!"

"I don't care about that, but you touch her again and I'll kill you"

"So you have fallen for her"

"And so what if I have?" Kai decided not to deny it, there was no point anymore.

"Nothing..., it's just an interesting piece the papers will want to know about. Maybe I'll tell them how Hilary and I are a couple and that you're jealous, or maybe that Hilary isn't quite the innocent little girl she makes out that she is, or maybe….." Kai grabbed Kendall by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall,

"If anything like that gets into the papers be it now or in ten years time I will come find you. I don't care if you didn't even have anything to do with it, I will make you suffer." Kendall still looked a little too cocky for Kai's liking so he pulled his arm back and with an almighty crack his fist met painfully with the other mans face. "Got that?"

--

In her suite Hilary had stood for a few moments trying to control herself, a couple of tears made their way down her face. Switching on the lights and shaking her head she made her way into her room and over to her dressing table. She removed her jacket and then reached up to take out the clips holding her hair in place she shook it out, smiling as her hair settled around her shoulders she slowly began to remove her makeup. There was a knock at the door she jumped unsure of who it might be, making her way cautiously to the door she whispered

"Who…who is it?"

"Me" no name needed to be said, Hilary smiled as she headed for the door

"I'm coming!"

--

During the night Hilary was awoken by something strange, the normally still figure beside her was moving restlessly,

"Kai?" she moved back to keep away from his flailing arms, he was fighting violently with someone. He muttered away rolling from side to side worrying Hilary, in the end she had to jump off the bed just to avoid getting hurt by him. After awhile the moving stopped and he lay still.

Hilary moved forward and looked down at him, there was an expression on his face of such anguish that Hilary felt like crying. Did he always have nightmares like this? Or was this something new a side affect that came up because the cybernetics were gone from his body?

Either way she was worried, she didn't like seeing him like this, lying down again pulled the covers over them then cautiously lay one arm over his chest. Almost immediately Kai drew her into his arms hugging her like a child holds a teddy bear, his face relaxed and he muttered her name smiling slightly. Hilary grinned and kissed him on the forehead

"Goodnight Kai"

She'd talk to him about it in the morning.

* * *

Wow long chapter! And though it was a bit fragmanted quite a lot happened

Hope you all enjoyed, please review!!


	39. Decisions and Discovery

Just so you all know, I have put the rating up but I will warn you if there are gonna be any lemons but it's a bit unlikely as I'm trying to get the story finished ASAP

God my connections off tonight, I've tried to put this up three times already.

Ok I have added one of my favourite songs in this chapter, I have added it for a reason that will be apparent later but I chose it because A, I love it and B, it seems to suit Kai (the whole born to run thing!)

I do not own beyblade or Bruce Springsteen's Born to run

* * *

Ray rolled over and sighed, he had arranged to sleep in the blade breakers suite, sleep! That was a good one, the sofa in the blade breakers suite was so uncomfortable he doubted he'd ever get to any rest. Then again (as he had discovered before when they were separated) he was used to sleeping with Mariah and without her sleep was unobtainable

Not that he felt like sleeping, he was so worried. He wanted to see Mariah before they flew out to Russia tomorrow, he knew that once they reached a new hotel he would be kept away form Mariah and it would be just like when everyone found out they were dating, he wouldn't know which room she was in, she would be watched constantly and if he tried to see her….he rubbed his throat, Lee would definitely not like that.

He grinned wondering what would have happened if Tia hadn't jumped onto Lee's back when she did. Ray had been surprised when Lee had attacked and Lee's hands had wrapped themselves around his throat. Tia had been dialling Hilary when seeing what happened she threw her phone to Millie and jumped on Lee pulling him off the choking Ray. Tia was strong!

"Hey Ray!"

"Hey Tyson" Ray didn't even open his eyes

"You OK?"

"What do you think?" Ray asked slightly rudely

Ignoring his friends tone Tyson grinned "I think…." Tyson paused scratching the back of his head "I think you and Mariah will make great parents"

"Mariah doesn't want the baby." Ray told him "She doesn't even want to see me"

"Give her time, she's probably just freaked out, Ray you get the easy job, the dad has very little to do. Hiro always said that when Arelam was pregnant it was really tough on her, it felt like we were always walking around on eggshells. Girls get hormonal and are upset really easily, Mariah just needs some time. When she's thought it through she'll know what she wants and you two can deal with it all together. And like I said you'll both make great parents!"

Surprised by this Ray opened his eyes and stared at him, in the half light he watched as Tyson raided the fridge and then turned back to face him a slice of pizza in his hand the fridge closed plunging them back into darkness. Tyson grinned and shrugging started to make his way back to his room

"Hey Ty?" Ray sat up

"Yeah?"

"Thanks"

"Hey no problem!"

--

Mariah lay in her bed sighing, she couldn't sleep either, not only was she missing Ray but she was thinking through a lot of issues.

Baby or no baby?

It was like when she used to pick flowers and use the petals to work out of Ray liked her

He loves me, he loves me not?

Another sigh escaped her, back then it had all been so easy, she and Ray were just kids enjoying life. When did it all get so difficult?

Oh yeah, when she started sleeping with Ray.

Sitting up she frowned, things would be a lot easier if she and Ray had never gotten together…but then again….

She had been so happy, she really loved Ray and….looking down at her stomach she placed a hand on the flat surface. It was hard to imagine that in only a few months her stomach would balloon out and she would be disgustingly fat.

"Hello baby" she whispered to her stomach "do you have any idea how much trouble you're causing? Because of you your uncle is trying to kill your father. And I thought Hilary's family were bad."

Mariah paused, up until now she had been determined not to refer to the little foetus inside of her as a baby. Somehow she had convinced herself that if she didn't call it a baby it wouldn't seem real.

Damn it!

She looked down again "Ok little one here's the deal! I'm not the maternal type, I mean I like kids and I want them one day but… this is all very soon. But….if you accept that I'm doing my best I promise I will love you so much. And you are so lucky, your daddy is going to be…." Mariah paused oh damn!

Ray!

She needed to sort out the situation with Ray before she made any promises. She giggled to herself realising that she could say what she like to the baby it would never remember any of it.

--

Flying to Russia with 8 teams was hard work, Hilary pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked over the luggage again. They had landed just over an hour ago and everything seemed OK the press had actually not caused any problems. So far they had managed to keep a lid on Mariah's secret and making sure that there was an extra room in the blade breakers suit for Ray meant that it was unlikely Ray would be killed in his sleep. Plus she and Kai hadn't been discovered yet, she paused for a second. Kai hadn't been in the bed when she awoke that morning, he had left a note explaining where he had gone and she hadn't seen him yet. She wanted to ask him about the nightmare she had witnessed last night, then again maybe he didn't want to talk about it.

Hilary looked up to find Mariah standing with by the luggage

"Lee finally let you out of his sight?" Hilary asked brusquely

"Don't be like that" Mariah begged, that was when Hilary noticed how red her friends eyes were.

"Are you OK Mariah?"

"I need you to give this to Ray" Mariah held out a DVD

"You didn't answer my question, are you OK?"

"I'm fine, please just give this to Ray"

Hilary took the disc and stared at it "What is it"

"Look I don't have time to explain, just tell him to watch it, I told Lee that I needed something from my luggage. He'll get suspicious if I'm gone too long"

Mariah grabbed one of her bags and ran off leaving Hilary standing staring at the disc. Hilary jammed the disc in a bag and after one last check over the baggage she started to make her way out of the airport. Looking around dismayed she realised that she had been left behind, damn-it now she was going to have to get a taxi.

"Need a lift?" Hilary grinned as she turned to face Kai

"You have a car?"

"I've rented one, then I saw you were still here and thought I'd offer to get you too the hotel"

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were following me around"

The bluenette shrugged leading the way to the car. Hilary followed him and Kai was glad that she didn't ask where her original ride had gone, he had paid off the driver with a very large tip and sent him on his way!

Anxious Hilary watched Kai drive, she knew for a fact that when he usually drove speeding tickets and ignoring red lights were usually the norm but with her in the car he was actually being very careful. Whenever she was in the car he would watch the roads carefully and keep well within the speed limit, he was a good driver all things considered.

The light they were approaching was amber and for a second Kai was about to floor it but then glancing over at his girlfriend he slowed down and stopped as the light turned red

"You could have made that you know!"

"Hn"

Hilary giggled leaning back comfortably in the chair "Can I turn the radio on?" The slight nod was her answer so she reached for ward and flicked in the radio, searching the station a bright cheery song started up, it was some girl band singing a happy song about a 'cute' boy, Kai visibly tensed and Hilary giggled again "Only joking"

She turned the knob again and another song came on

"Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend  
I want to guard your dreams and visions  
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims  
and strap your hands across my engines  
Together we could break this trap  
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back  
Will you walk with me out on the wire  
Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider  
But I gotta find out how it feels  
I want to know if love is wild girl I want to know if love is real"

"I love this one" Hilary stated surprising Kai, he had never had her down as a Bruce Springsteen fan. He was even more surprised when she began to sing along, she didn't have a brilliant voice but she kept to the tune and sounded like she really believed every word she sang.

"Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard  
The girls comb their hair in rear-view mirrors  
And the boys try to look so hard  
The amusement park rises bold and stark  
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist  
I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight, in an everlasting kiss"

Hilary turned to stare at Kai, it was her turn to be surprised now, somewhere during the last verse Kai had started to song too, the light ahead turned green and Kai started to drive again. As he checked to the side to change lanes he caught her eye, they exchanged a smile and laughing together they began to sing louder

"The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive  
Everybody's out on the run tonight, but there's no place left to hide  
Together Wendy we'll live with the sadness  
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul  
Someday girl I don't know when  
We're gonna get to that place  
Where we really want to go and we'll walk in the sun  
But till then tramps like us baby we were born to run

Tramps like us baby we were born to run"

"You have good taste" Kai stiffly told the girl next to him

"You too" Hilary grinned at him,

"How come you like Springsteen?" he asked curiously

"My cousin Jake was a huge fan"

"Isn't he the one you don't get along with?"

"Yeah" Hilary shrugged "he's the only cousin who I ever had problems with"

"How come?"

"I dunno, I once heard him say that it would have been better if no girl had ever been born into this family so maybe he just bigoted and doesn't like girls"

"But how did he introduce you to good music?"

"Oh, that's a weird story" Hilary laughed "He used to storm up to his room whenever I was around and play the music really loud, one day he started to play this CD I loved it, I loved it so much I snuck into his room to find it. When he found me in there in thought he'd go crazy but he just gave me this odd smile and gave me the CD I wanted. Ever since then every birthday I got this unmarked present, it was always a CD. He sent me Bob Dylan, John Lennon. He always seemed to send music I loved."

"That's kinda weird" Kai said his eyes still on the road "but then you're whole family are a bit strange"

"Just a bit?" As she grinned at Kai Hilary remembered what she had wanted to ask him "hey Kai what was that about last night?"

"Which bit?" Kai asked raising his eyebrows in an amused manner

"Not that bit" Hilary blushed "Last night you were having a nightmare, it seemed pretty bad."

"A nightmare?" Kai took his eyes off the road briefly to look at her "I don't remember any nightmare" a concerned look crossed his face and he stared at the road. He was obviously trying to remember it and Hilary anxious for him not to remember the horrible dream if he had forgotten it shrugged

"Well it didn't seem all that bad, forget about it"

"Hm" he was still thinking about it though as he drove slowly through the streets. Hilary wished she hadn't brought it up and then looking out the window realised how slow they were going, they were well below the speed limit

"I think that's a hearse overtaking us" she said and smiled as Kai chuckled slightly and sped up the car a little. "So Kai what did happen to my ride today?"

Damn it! Kai thought she'd forgotten about that "I just politely told him you didn't need a lift"

"Why?"

"Because otherwise we aren't gonna spend anytime together until after the games are over tomorrow"

"Oh" Hilary smiled down at her hands

"You know…" Kai ventured to say "it would be a lot easier to spend time together if people knew…."

"No!" Hilary shook her head violently "I'm sorry Kai, but I just really need this to be kept a secret until after the games are over. Is that Ok?" Kai said nothing but his hands tightened on the steering wheel "It's just over a week away Kai, that's all."

"Fine."

--

"Hey Ray!" Hilary stood outside the blade breakers suite knocking "C'mon I know you're in there!"

Finally the door opened and Ray stood in front of her "Hey Hils"

"Could you look more depressed?" Hilary asked

"I'm a little jetlagged and I didn't sleep well last night"

"Missing Mariah?"

"I'm not in the mood for a joke Hils"

"Good" Hilary held out the disc Mariah had given her "This is for you Ray" Hilary told him "Mariah just said to watch it"

"What is it?"

"A disc!" she told him thrusting it into his hands "I don't know what's on it so you'll have to watch it OK?"

"Ok I'll watch it as long as…." Ray grabbed a pen and paper form his bag and scribbled something down "As long as you give her this."

"Fine" Hilary muttered "God passing notes around, if this situation weren't all about a baby I'd swear we'd all reverted back to being thirteen years old"

--

Ray sat down in front of his computer screen, in front of him Mariah's face was paused ready to say something, he just wasn't sure he was ready to hear it! Finally he reached forward and pressed play.

"Hi Ray" Mariah spoke nervously biting her lip as she gazed out at him "I know this is a bit weird and I could probably phone you but…well this is easier. Lee and I have spoken for a long time about this, he thinks I should get an abortion and for a while so did I. Ray I'm only 17" Mariah paused and tears began to fall from her eyes "and you're only 18 we're far to young for all this."

As Ray sat watching the tape his eyes began to tear up as well, "oh Mariah" he muttered wishing she could hear him, he knew that this was a bad situation but an abortion was such a big deal

The pinkette on screen wiped her eyes and sniffed "But here's the thing, you and I haven't said what we want to each other yet, I know you refused to see it…, the baby as just cells and you called it a baby which makes me think that maybe…, maybe what I'm about to say isn't such an impossible thing after all"

Ray sat forward getting closer to the screen silently willing Mariah to talk faster

"You see while I was talking to Lee it seemed sensible to get rid if the baby but last night when I was alone I realised something, I actually want to keep the baby, I want to be with you and have a baby with you and be a family with you and the baby. The thing is I know you're against abortion but I also know you're pro adoption and…"

She smiled but it wasn't a real smile Ray could tell, he always knew when her smiles were genuine or not.

"and I'm terrified you'll want me to give it up. Because I can't do that now, so I made a decision and I'm keeping this baby. Whether or not you do it with me us up to you" Mariah grinned (this smile was about 25 real) shrugging "but I hope…"

Ray didn't stick around to hear the last bit, jumping up he ran out the door.

--

Mariah held the note Hilary had given her in her hand, it was on a single sheet of rough paper that Ray had probably written on quickly. Inhaling sharply she finally opened the paper and looked down at it

_Mariah_

_I love you no matter what but, I want to have this baby with you._

_Please let us have this family_

_All my Love_

_Ray_

--

"I need to know what room Mariah Wong is in!" Ray demanded at reception

"I'm sorry sir but we're under strict instructions not to give out her room number…, especially to you."

Ray thumped down on the desk with his fist "I need to know where she is! Tell me where she is right now!"

"Right now sir?" the receptionist grinned "Right now, she's right behind you"

Ray turned to find Mariah standing behind him, holding his note in one hand, she was crying but it was obvious that they were tears of joy because of the huge and 100 real smile she wore. The two of them paused before running into each others arms and holding each other close,

"God they are exhausting" Millie sighed staring over at them, she was stood with Hilary and Tia as the three of them watched the cute reunion

"You ever feel like you're in a soap opera or something?" Hilary whispered

"Yup" Tia nodded "has anyone got any popcorn?"

"No but here comes the next comedic scene" Millie grinned nodding at the approaching Tala

"Oh God him!" Tia muttered, Tala joined the group and greeted Millie and Hilary he glared at Tia who returned the look with gusto

"Come on Guys please stop being idiots" Hilary begged "I got enough on my plate without having to deal with you two hating each other. Can you just call a truce until the games are over?"

"Sure" Tia shrugged

"Fine" Tala nodded "But I came here to find out if you know who's playing who in the next round yet. Cause we were hospitalised for so long we haven't been able to keep track of all that stuff."

"You're up against the White Tigers"

"I only hope we can get in shape in time" Tala said scratching his head, he looked quite concerned

"I wouldn't worry about it" Mille told him "Mariah isn't playing, and their teamwork has gone out the window again, none of them are in the mood for beyblading tomorrow."

"They look OK" Tala said looking over at the couple who were still standing in the middle of the lobby hugging each other

"They won't be in a moment" Tia pointed "Look who's just got here"

Lee was walking down the stairs.

Mariah had her head buried in Rays shoulder when she felt him tense up, pulling away she looked at his face and saw that he was staring at something behind her. Almost instantly Mariah knew what he was looking at, his hand tightened on her arm and she could feel him holding her closer. She sighed bracing herself for the coming storm, turning she looked at her brother

"Mariah what are you doing with him?" Lee's voice was filled with hatred

"Lee…" Ray was about to say something but Mariah shook her head

"Let me deal with this" she whispered, walking away from Ray she made her way over to her brother. "Lee, you and I need to talk."

--

"Do you honestly think you're ready for motherhood Mariah?" Lee was pacing the floor of Mariah's room as he said this "You're still just a kid! And what do you think mum and dad are gonna say about all this?"

"Probably the same thing they said when they found out about me and Ray, you know, 'you're a hussy, you are no longer my daughter, if you ever see that boy again you aren't welcome in our home'" Mariah shrugged

"Yes well…" Lee paused "If you and Ray go through with this you are no longer part of our team."

"You want Ray and I to leave the team right before you go up against the Blitzkrieg Boys?" Mariah grinned, her brother had no idea that the Blitzkrieg boys weren't on top form but there was no way she would let him no about that "OK, Ray and will leave, I'm sure we can stay with the Blade breakers until the Russian tournament is over…"

"I mean you can't battle and Ray will be asked to leave as soon as the tournaments over."

"I can live with that, and you know what? So can Ray" Mariah grabbed her suitcase and walked to the door, "Rays got a room in the Blade breakers suite, you want to see me, I'll be there."

--

"Man we've been here ages" Garland complained "what's taking so long?"

"We're waiting for Kai" Hiro answered unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice "As captain for the Blitzkrieg boys he needs to be here before we can start."

Hilary looked around nervously she wondered where Kai was, she hoped he was OK, after all she didn't know if he was really healthy enough to be walking around. For all she knew he could need a long rest after all he'd been through and he certainly hadn't been resting recently. He and the rest of his team had spent the last three hours training and getting ready for their battle with the Whiter Tigers. Then again… he had been more than a little annoyed with her earlier when she insisted on keeping their relationship secret, perhaps he was mad at her.

"What makes him think he can just keep us waiting?" Lee asked in a frustrated tone, as he asked this he shot an angry glance over at his sister sitting with one arm around **Ray**, he couldn't even think the name without getting angry at the moment.

"And why is he taking so long" Miguel asked staring down at his watch

"Why does he always have to do this?" Michael asked

"Because he is Kai," Tyson stood arms crossed doing his Kai imitation, Kenny knelt quickly in position behind him holding up one of the white towels from the gym "I Kai am King of the world"

Everyone in the room including the Blitzkrieg Boys found this funny and started to chuckle Tala dropped down crouching in a low bow pretending to worship, Daichi quickly followed suit. Ray and Max hadn't seen Tyson's latest Kai impression they laughed hard before joining Tala and Daichi.

"Worship at my feet minions" Tyson patted Max and Ray's heads condescendingly, everyone else fell about laughing. "I Kai demand that you all……"

"Stop acting like idiots?" Kai asked from his seat, he had walked into the room and sat down completely unnoticed

"Uh oh" Tyson and the others all jumped to attention, the room went silent.

"Please don't kill us" Daichi whimpered

"Luckily for you I'm in too much of a good mood to get annoyed by this so I won't kill you -This time!"

"Kai's in a good mood?" Tyson asked sounding shocked, he looked at Tala "Did hell freeze over?"

"Why do people always ask me that?" Tala sounded offended but he didn't actually mind, he too was wondering why Kai was in a 'good mood'.

He looked at his captain who sat as usual arms crossed and hair falling over his face but Tala could just make out the bluenettes eyes, they were focussed on something. Following Kai's line of vision Tala smiled, he was looking directly at Hilary who in turn was smiling coyly down at her paper work.

"So that's it" he muttered, "this could be interesting"

--

Kai watched as Hilary tied her hair up sighing as the slight breeze from the air conditioning to reach her graceful neck, the room was warm and the press conference seemed interminably long. Kai continued to stare at his girlfriend as she rubbed her forehead, everyone in the room was hot and sweaty and he could see a droplet making its way down her neck and slowly onto her chest until it reached the fabric of her dress.

God this distracting. Kai forced himself to look away.

There were so many secrets in his life right now, ok so he was no longer ill but he still had a score to settle with team thunderbolt, most importantly with Kendall. He had spoken to his team and they had agreed not to tell Mr D about Kendall's connection to Boris and Voltaire but he was going to get vengeance inside the dish and out. And then there was Hilary, they were a couple now but she didn't want anyone to know….

Why didn't she want anyone to know? He was pretty sure of her feelings for him after all he knew her well, she had never once said 'I love you' to any boyfriend so he wasn't worried because she hadn't said it… yet. He knew she had never said it because it had been the cause of many of her break-ups. He frowned wondering if she was trying to talk herself out of all this. His hand tightened around his glass of water. If she ever tried to leave him, if anyone ever tried to take her from him, well he would make the damage Brooklyn and Tyson's battle had caused seem like nothing.

The glass in his hand smashed, everyone looked up but Kai showed them that though his glass was broken his hand was unhurt and they continued on.

Now Hilary stood to talk to them all, he watched enjoying the view as she walked over to the board explaining to the paparazzi the order the quarter and semi finals would go in. Kai licked his lips as he saw her outfit. She was wearing that little black dress and a denim jacket. The dress was short but then so were most of her clothes. Then Kai noticed that Spencer was staring as well, so was a guy across the room, so was some guy who was supposed to be serving drinks, so was that hot female reporter sitting by the doors (wait did he find the hot female reporter staring annoying or arousing?) never mind! Kai felt himself get annoyed and wanted to shout 'will everyone please stop staring at my girlfriend!'He would have to talk to her about that.

Finally it was all over and everyone started to leave, Hilary was one of the last to leave and was soon making her way out of the room and through the stadium corridors. As she walked she began to feel as though she was being watched, feeling worried Hilary made a sharp left turn and started to walk towards the team locker rooms, she knew that most of the teams would be around still so if she needed help she could probably get it.

She was about to make her way to the Blade breaker locker room when the unknown follower grabbed her slipping one hand over her mouth and forcing her into a nearby empty changing room. For a second she was terrified but the hands that held her though firm were also very gentle and incredibly familiar, her body relaxed properly when she heard **that **voice whispering to her

"You have got to stop wearing those short skirts"

Finding herself released Hilary turned on Kai angrily "What the hell do you think you were doing Hiwatari? You terrified me."

"You have got to stop wearing those short skirts" he repeated

"Oh yeah?" Hilary liked the look in his eyes but did not appreciate being bossed around "and why is that?"

"I don't like seeing other men look at you" Kai took he hand and kissed the palm, carefully placing kisses up to her wrist and then along the arm to the elbow,

"Stop it" Even though she said this Hilary made no attempt to move away closing her eyes and enjoying every sensual action he completed. When Kai reached her elbow he looked up at her and immediately loved the look of her, her eyes closed her heaving breathing causing her chest to rise and fall. Moving towards her he forced her up against the wall.

"How the hell did I manage before?" Kai asked encircling her waist with his arms and nuzzling her neck

"Manage what?" Hilary was confused, she pulled away to look at him properly "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Kai told her moving back towards her and placing his lips by her ear "how did I manage to resist you before? All throughout that conference all I could think about was grabbing you and doing this…" he crushed his lips to hers kissing her with such force that Hilary would have fallen back had it not been for the wall at her back and the strong arms holding her in place

The kiss ended and Hilary began to toy with Kai's shirt buttons "Oh really?" the brunette was extremely pleased to hear all this, she herself was almost constantly aware of Kai's power over her and her constant attraction to him but she had never before been aware that she held that sort of power over him.

She giggled as he pulled her closer only to freeze as the locker room door opened, Mariah and Ray came tumbling in kissing.

"Hilary?" Mariah was the first to spot them she pushed Ray away and stared at her friend

"Um… Hi" Hilary licked her lips and carefully disentangled herself from Kai's arms, "so…."

Ray's face had turned murderous as he stared at his two friends, Kai merely grinned. Ray was surprised, Kai grinning?

"So….. how long's this been going on?" Mariah asked (she was also grinning)

"Not long" Hilary mumbled

"Kai" Ray said quietly "A word"

Kai nodded and after giving Hilary a quick kiss on the cheek he followed Ray out into the corridor.

"Ten to one on Kai" Mariah muttered

"Oh don't say that" Hilary moaned "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen"

"Well while they're gone" Mariah gave a grin that made Hilary feel a little like she was in a dangerous situation "want to tell me anything else?"

--

"OK Ray" Kai leant up against the wall with his eyes closed and his face covered with it's usual unconcerned expression "what do you want?"

Ray and Kai were the same height now and while Kai was slouched against the wall it was easy for Ray to stand over him "I want to know exactly what is going on!"

"With what?"

Ray gritted his teeth "You know what I'm on about" he told him furiously, Kai smirked

"Chill Ray" Kai finally opened his eyes and standing up off the wall he looked at his friend "I'm not messing around, I'm not forcing her to do anything, and I will die before I hurt or let anyone else hurt her."

Ray took a step and stared at Kai, they were now eye level and Ray was astonished with the look in Kai's eyes. He had never seen his friend look quite so serious (unless it was about beyblading and beating Tyson), usually there was a slight smirk or a trace of mockery on Kai's face but he was being totally genuine here.

Thinking carefully Ray considered the situation, Kai was not known for having relationships and he was definitely not a player, not like the rest of his team. And Kai had always taken care of Hilary, the way Kai treated Hilary, the way he always seemed to be checking up on her was very similar to the way he was with Mariah.

"Alright then" Ray nodded and for a split second both of them were suddenly taken over with the hilarity of the situation. It was like in the olden days when a person would ask permission to marry, Ray laughed out loud and even Kai managed a chuckle.

"I can date her?" Kai asked smirking

"Yeah, just…. You know"

"Ray, you are in no position to lecture me about how I should act in a relationship."

"I know but…. Hilary…"

"I know Ray, she's like a sister to you" Kai smiled "but I can safely say she was never that to me. Look she wants to keep this all secret for now so can you just keep a lid on it?"

"I guess, she kept mine and Mariah's relationship a secret for long enough. I do owe her one. Why does she want to keep it secret though?"

"Beats me" Kai shrugged "she spoke about now wanting the press following her around. I guess I understand that"

Ray could sense Kai's annoyance so he shrugged "Hilary's paid to keep the press at arms length and make sure they don't get any more ammunition against us, she's probably just thinking about that"

"Yeah I guess"

"Looks like someone's wanting to shout their relatioships from the rooftops, you love her"

"Ray?" Kai frowned "Don't be an idiot"

"I'm not, this is just how I was with Mariah, I wanted to tell everyone and I got so stressed that she wouldn't tell anyone. And I love her." Ray grinned "You love Hilary"

"Keep talking and I'll punch you"

--

Max sat staring at his Draciel, he was seriously worried about tomorrow. In the morning the Blitzkrieg Boys would be playing the white Tigers but then in the afternoon he would be up against BEGA, and not just any member of BEGA, the way the games had been set up he was against Brooklyn!

He gulped

"Stop worrying about it" Max turned to find Millie standing across the room from him "You can beat Brooklyn no problem"

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Look the two of you are very different, you play fair and are sweet" both Max and Millie blushed as she said this "Brooklyn is sneaky and overconfident, therein lies the key to your winning."

"I still don't get it"

Millie shook her head "It's simple Max, here's what you do."

* * *

Please R&R


	40. Dating difficulties

Sorry I've been gone so long everyone, I know I already apologised but I'm saying it again cos I feel really bad! I tried to change my email address on my settings and for some reason the whole thing went haywire. Then my connection went down, man was I pissed! Sorry to everyone.

My connection is back though WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok I got rid of my authors note and put this up, I think (I'm not sure, but I think) that this may mean anyone that reviewed my note can't review now. If that is the case then don't worry about it. You don't have to R&R.

I actually have some beyblading in this chapter! I know, even I almost forgot that this story was about a tournament!

Thanks for reviewing everyone, love ya all so much!!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Ray and Mariah walked along holding hands, Ray was obviously distracted as he almost walked into one of the potted ferns that lined the hallway for a third time. Without disturbing his reverie Mariah carefully guided him out of the way of the plant, she could tell he was thinking about what they had just discovered. He had been OK while they were still with the couple but the moment that they had left Kai and Hilary alone his temper had failed him and his fists were clenched. Poor old Ray was so annoyed that he was beginning to mutter under his breath.

"Hilary and Kai?" Ray muttered quietly but Mariah could hear him "Hilary and Kai?"

"Yeah" Mariah nodded giggling

"Hilary and Kai?" he repeated incredulously

"I thought we'd already established that"

"Did you know they… liked each other?" he asked Mariah nodded "Well why didn't you just tell me?"

"I thought that maybe you might react badly"

"Well I've had a word with Kai but I guess I'm cool with it" Ray shrugged " I meant to tell him that he better…." he trailed off knowing that Mariah would laugh at him for what he was about to say

"Better what?" Mariah looked at him questioningly then grinned a glint in her eye realising that Ray was thinking the same thing as Kenny "Let me guess you were gonna tell him to… how shall I phrase this…. Keep it in his pants?"

"Keep it in his pants" Ray agreed his eyes filled with annoyance "Yeah! I was going to tell him that."

Mariah laughed "Don't you think it would be a little hypocritical considering our relationship? And how quickly we moved with it?"

"Not at all, I've known you for ages and liked you since I was about six, we started dating two years ago that means that we technically waited" Ray paused doing the maths in his head "about eleven years"

"So you want Kai and Hilary to wait eleven years?" Mariah stood back and gave him an incredulous look

"No" Ray protested "they met about four years ago so…, so they only have to wait about seven years"

"You're an idiot" smiling Mariah walked forward and wound her arms around his neck "you're lucky I love you"

"I know!" Ray kissed her gently on the cheek

"Ahem!" Lee stood behind the happy couple frowning murderously

"Hey Lee!" Mariah smiled glibly at her brother.

"Ray we have a game soon"

"I'm coming" Ray told him "Mariah you gonna come watch the game?"

Mariah shook her head and lowered her voice so only Ray could hear her "No, I need to call my parents before…." she shot Lee a dark look "I know Lee tried to call our parents last night but didn't get through. I need to talk to mum and dad before he does."

Ray nodded understandingly "Alright, love you!"

"Love you too!" They kissed again ignoring the angry teeth grinding noises Lee made as they did so.

--

Max watched as Kenny began to give Draciel a tune up, even though they were now on different teams Max still only really trusted Kenny to know what he was doing with Draciel. Besides Kenny was too principled to ever sabotage another team. He and Tyson exchanged a friendly banter while Daichi jumped around the room declaring himself victorious even though he hadn't even played his game yet.

"It's the power of positive thinking" he had told Max solemnly

As Kenny started to look at Draciel's various parts Hilary walked in, she wasn't at all surprised to see Max and the blade breakers together but she was acting in a slightly nervous way

"Any of you seen Ray at all?" she asked cautiously trying to sound casual

"No" Tyson replied and the others all shook their heads

"Are you looking for him?" Kenny asked

"Um... Yeah!"

Max and Tyson exchanged glances but assumed that her looking for Ray and her odd behaviour had something to do with Mariah's pregnancy.

"So what's happening with Tia?" Tyson asked trying to sound careless "Is she going home or what?"

"Nah, she still hasn't told her mum everything so I've managed to convince her to stay with us, she's helping me with my paperwork. It's a real relief actually, I'm a bit behind with my work. And then when the tournaments over I'm hoping she'll come stay with me in Japan until we can sort her life out"

"Oh good" Tyson smiled to himself busily cleaning his beyblade

Watching Tyson carefully Max grinned, he wondered if Hilary had yet learned to read Tyson well enough to know that Tyson was developing a slight crush on her friend. Max looked at Hilary and saw her biting her lip trying not to laugh. They exchanged a quick glance and she had to put a hand over her mouth in order to stop the laughter bursting out.

Oh she knew alright!

"Well I'll see you guys later" still trying to keep her face straight Hilary left the room, after a second or two of thought and a quick 'be right back' Max followed Hilary.

"Hey Hils?"

"Yes Max?" Hilary didn't look up from her clipboard but she did stop walking

"I'm up against BEGA in an hour or two…. Do you…? Do you know?"

"I don't have time for this Max" she told him gently

"Do you know if Millie will be there?" he asked blushing, Hilary looked up grinning so he stumbled over his words "its…, its not like that, she just gave…, gave me some good advice for the match and I was wondering if…if…." he stared at his feet

"If she'd be there? Max she always watches your matches"

"She does?" Max looked up hopefully "All of them?"

"Yep!" Hilary looked back down at her work

"I guess she's just keeping tabs on the competition" Max didn't want to jump to conclusions but he was hoping Hilary would confirm something that he was starting to suspect

'_If by competition you mean making sure you don't have a new girlfriend'_ Hilary thought to herself but instead of actually saying that she just shook her head "I doubt it Max, she doesn't watch all the other teams play."

"Reallly?!" Max brightened up, before Hilary could move away he grabbed her arm and looked at her "Do you know if…. I was wondering….If I was to ask Millie….." Max scratched his head nervously.

"If you were to ask Millie out to a romantic candlelit dinner for two would she say yes?" Hilary asked casually making a note of something on a form

Max scratched his neck grinning "Yeah sort of, how did you guess?"

"Just an idea," _'and it was completely bloody obvious!!'_

"Oh well what do you think?" he asked. He was surprised when Hilary looked up, she seemed a little angry. "Um Hils?"

"Max in the last week or so I've been working on a cure for Kai and the others, been in a car chase, had to stay in hiding from my grandfather, found out my uncle betrayed me, got poisoned, and tried to keep up with all this tournament work at the same time as doing my distance learning course for med school! Do you really think I have had time to worry about your love life?"

"I guess not!" Max looked down sadly

"Idiot" Max stared at Hilary surprised she was smiling now "Of course I've had time for that! Millie was crazy about you before all this stuff with the Blitzkrieg boys started and she still was when I asked her about it yesterday, so stop wasting time and go ask her out!" Hilary bent her head down over her clipboard.

"Thanks Hil" Max was beaming "If I can ever help you please tell me!"

"Don't worry I will!" Hilary walked away from the grinning boy a large smile on her own face "and by the way….she likes yellow roses."

--

Brooklyn stood eager and confident as he stared across the dish, Max on the other side felt nervous and extremely ill prepared. They had just played two battles and both won one each, Max was exhausted, he really doubted that he would be able to go for another round. After all he was pretty sure that Brooklyn let him win the first one to make this last longer.

He looked back at where his team stood, they all looked very dejected, Emily (much to her dismay) had been easily beaten by Ming-Ming. Garland and Rick had been pretty evenly matched, Rick had managed to win but it had been close Max hadn't been sure who had won for a few moments.

"Hey Max" Brooklyn called grabbing the boys attention and calling him back to face him "you can just give up now if you like?"

Max looked back at his team hoping for encouragement.

He didn't get any.

His team obviously thought it was hopeless.

It was all down to Max and his nerves were shot to pieces!

He looked at the opposing team.

The BEGA team looked like they were about to start celebrating.

He looked at his opponent.

Brooklyn looked like he had barely been affected by the past games.

He glanced at where his parents sat.

Even they didn't look like they thought he could do it.

Oh come on, how could anyone believe he could do it?

Even he thought it was impossible

"Hey, HEY! MAX!"

Someone in the watching crowds was calling him now.

Max turned to look into the audience, he wasn't sure but he thought he knew that voice.

There! Just a few rows behind his parents standing on her seat Millie was calling to him.

"YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" on either side of her, her cousins blushed embarrassed

He shook his head sadly,

"YOU CAN DO THIS!!"

She grinned and he couldn't help but smile back.

Max nodded a little encouraged he turned to face Brooklyn 'come on Draciel, we'll do this'

"3,2,1, Let it rip!"

Both competitors launched their beyblades at the same time, Brooklyn's hit the dish first and gained speed and momentum. Max's blade had been launched without it's usual power and it was obvious that Max was feeling tired, Draciel hit the dish soon after Brooklyn's blade but there was a slight wobble as he landed and before he could even begin to get a steady spin going Brooklyn was all over him. He was hit repeatedly, pummelled from side to side and never given a chance to move away.

Max looked over at Millie and felt a sudden wave of confidence, she was still standing on her seat watching everything he did, her eyes never went to the dish she just kept her eyes on him. Finally Max nodded and he began to get Draciel to gather speed, for a few moments it looked like Max was gaining some ground as a huge wavelike force hit the dish, Brooklyn struggled slightly but never showed it, he kept that light half smile on his face as though Max's efforts amused him.

Brooklyn shouted a command and Draciel was hit in such a way that it almost stopped spinning, Max dropped to his knees panting, it looked as though he was out of energy. Poor Max looked heartbroken as though he knew whatever strategy he had it wouldn't work. Brooklyn watched as Max's eyes once again went to the pretty blonde in the stands, Millie had come down off her seat and was sitting her head in her hands.

It was as good as over, Brooklyn guessed that whatever Millie had thought Max could do was obviously no longer a possibility, why else would they both be looking so disconsolate?

Brooklyn smiled and then yawning turned away from the dish, "finish him off" he commanded. He didn't even bother to watch as his beyblade pulled away from Max's and after circling the dish carefully it went full force at Draciel.

"NOW!" the command took Brooklyn by surprise as Max jumped up suddenly full of energy and Draciel easily dodged his beyblade. Brooklyn's blade went flying from the dish ejected by the force of it's own attack.

Brroklyn stared open mouthed, he dropped to his own knees staring at the dish and Draciel spinning meanderingly around it.

"How?" Was the question from the PPB All Starz Bench

"How?" was the question from the BEGA bench

"How?" Was the question from the audience

"How?" asked DJ Jazzman, his face blank and surprised

Neither team could quite believe what had happened, nor could the announcer or the audience. There was a shocked silence, it was Millie who was first on her feet cheering and a split second later the stadium burst into a violent applause.

Max called Draciel to his hand and then totally ignoring his clueless looking team he looked up at where Millie was on her feet cheering with the rest of them, suddenly she left her seat and jumping over her cousin beside her she made for the steps. Grinning he ran from the edge of the dish, vaulting over the barrier that separated the audience from the arena he sprinted up the steps. Millie was running down toward him the two of them smiling more broadly than they had ever thought they could smile.

When they reached each other neither of them thought, they just wrapped their arms around each other, Max swung the girl around totally ignoring how precariously they were perched on the steps. When he stoped spinning her they just stood staring at each other and grinnning like maniacs!

Millie seemed to suddenly become aware of her surroundings, and conscious of the crowds, cameras and her cousins just a few rows away she tried to pull away from Max but he grinned and held her closer.

"Oh no you don't" he whispered into her hair and then ignoring the surrounding cousins, crowds, camera's and the fact that his parents were just on the same level as them he kissed her.

--

"One down, one to go" Tia muttered, she was sitting in the suite she shared with Hilary, she had the TV on and was watching the days matches.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mariah asked joining her in front of the TV "Oh my god! Is that Max and Millie?"

"Yeah" Tia nodded grinning, for some reason the camera hadn't moved from the couple and they seemed blissfully unaware of the fact that this was going out on live TV.

"So much for her being shy" sitting down in the sofa Mariah shook her head.

"What are you talking about, that girls face is so red it looks like she's on fire"

"Yeah…., by the way what **did **you mean by one down, one to go?"

"Well Millie is with Max, all we need to do is get Hilary and Kai together and…. What's that smile for?"

"Kai and Hilary are together" Mariah burst out, "I'm not supposed to tell anyone but it's so great!! They're keeping it a secret! You cannot tell them I told you"

"How did you find out?"

"Ray and I caught them making out. Hilary won't talk about it but apparently she wants the whole thing to be kept secret."

"Why? If I was dating someone as hot as him I would **not** be hiding it."

"She says it's so that the paparazzi don't hound them but I think she's nervous. She really loves him and I think she thinks they won't last. You know she's probably worried he'll go off her, or hurt her, or something. Or if she sleeps with him her family will freak out and when she calls them they'll hang up on her…" Mariah looked thoughtful as she said this

"Um Mariah?"

"And her brother won't talk to her, and if they get knocked out of the tournament her brother will blame her for it, and so will the rest of the team, and that eventually everything will just go wrong."

"Are we still talking about Hilary here or are you thinking about something else?"

"Hm?" Mariah looked up snapping out of her maudlin mood she pasted a wide and fake smile on her face. "Oh sorry, I just…. I called my parents today."

"They didn't take it well huh?"

"They hung up" Mariah wiped away the tear on her cheek "And Lee's furious, the White Tigers got knocked out today and he says it's my fault for causing all this trouble and **distracting **the team"

"Bastard" Tia muttered feelingly

"Tia, how am I gonna get through this? My family won't be there for me, who have I got?"

"You have Ray, and Hilary, and all your other friends"

"I know but…if I got rid of the baby they might welcome me back."

"You don't want that"

"No, but I always figured that when I had kids my mother would be there for me"

"A lot of girls go through pregnancy without having their mum around"

"But who am I going to go to for advice? The only person I know who's had a baby is Arelam and I don't know her very well. Not enough to get advice from her."

"Mariah..., look pregnancy is very tough but you'll get through it, you don't know how lucky you are to have Ray. Once it's all over and you're holding that baby you'll realise that you're lucky."

"I know that" Mariah smiled thinking about when she finally had the baby in her arms, then a thought occurred to her " Hey! You sound like you speak from experience."

"I do…sort of" Mariah turned to gaze at Tia a shocked look on her face, Tia merely smiled "You have to promise never to tell anyone else this." Mariah said nothing just gazing at the blonde her eyes incredibly wide "Promise?" Tia asked

"Mm-hm" Mariah nodded

"First of all what do you know about Jack? What did Hilary tell you?"

"She said…." Mariah paused, the whole thing had been such a secret she was afraid to talk about it

Tia seemed to understand her hesitation "It's **my** secret, you're not gonna upset **me **by telling **me my** secret"

Mariah laughed "She told me that he hit you once, and when she tried to make you leave him, you wouldn't. Then one day you just stopped returning her calls and refused to meet with her when she came to England."

Tia sighed before moving closer to Mariah and beginning her story

"Yeah Jack hit me and he did it more than once, it was so scary when it happened but…." Tia shrugged trying to seem careless "I won't go into details, he always said sorry and told me he loved me. By the time I saw what he really was and that he'd never change I'd broken away from everyone. My family, my friends. I guess that was his plan, he always told me that they were out to get him and that if we got away from my family and friends everything would be perfect. And I believed him"

"I'm so sorry"

"Don't be!" Tia paused before asking "Why do you think I left him?"

"You told Hilary that you finally realised what he was."

Tia smirked "Did you honestly think that one day I just woke up and thought to myself that I should leave him because he was violent? About eight months before I met up with you guys I discovered that I was pregnant at first I was thrilled and everything went well with Jack, he was so happy he even stopped hitting me. It was all so wonderful just like when we first started dating, you know before he first…" Tia trailed off frowning

"Yeah" Mariah nodded not wanting to force Tia to talk about it all again. Tia gave her a grateful smile before continuing.

"Then one day when I was about eight months gone he came home and he was furiously angry, I don't know why but he never really needed much of a reason. Anyway I don't remember much past the first couple of punches, when I woke up I was in a hospital, one of my neighbours had seen him leaving the apartment covered in blood and phoned for the police. The baby was born prematurely and was OK but I didn't have anyone I could turn to" Tia raised a hand to her eye and wiped away a tear

"So you've had a baby?" Mariah seemed to find this hard to believe "you don't look like you have, you don't seem to have stretch marks or anytihng"

"No, I was lucky there, got my dancers body back pretty quickly." Tia gave a sigh looking down at herself, then she shuddered as though it was suddenly very cold

"Tia, what happened to the baby?" Mariah stared at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, it really troubled her to see the usually bubbly and cheerful Tia look so anguished

"He was a boy and I gave him away, all I asked of the parents was that they never name him Jack! I had lost everything, thanks to Jack, I had lost contact with most of my friends and family. I knew that I couldn't look after myself and a baby too, there I was, afraid and alone, I had only myself to blame. So long story short I had Jack arrested, arranged a restraining order and after giving the baby to a **good **home I got away."

"How? I mean you had nobody, how did you mange to get away?"

"Someone got in touch with me, I can't tell you who but he helped me on one condition. He wanted me to help him discover something. It's a long story and telling you it would mean revealing who helped me and I promised I wouldn't do that."

"I see" Mariah lkooked as though she didn't really understand but she wasn't about to force Tia to explain

"The point of my telling you any of this is to tell you that you are lucky to have Ray. He is a good…. A great guy and he loves you."

"I know but we have to worry about getting a place to live and a job..."

"Hilary's helping him there" Tia said with a grin "Mr Dickenson is setting up a new gym in and training centre in Bakuten and Hilary suggested that they get Ray in as a trainer."

"Aw she always thinks of everything, but still... who can I go to for advice about this stuff? Not Hilary!"

"Well I know a lot about the pregnancy, I'll stick around, after it's born we'll just have to wing it!" Tai shrugged smiling "I can only tell you what I've read"

"It'll be more than I know" Mariah said "Look Tia, are you sure you don't want Millie or Hilary to know about this"

"Nah" Tia shook her head "I don't want to worry them, besides it was nice to say it out loud to someone."

--

Hand in hand Millie and Max were running down a corridor together, behind them a mass of photographers seemed to be following them. They just kept running until they were outside the stadium, once outside Max dragged Millie into a taxi and told the driver a destination she had never heard of. She didn't mind though, Millie just sat back in her seat breathing heavily and smiling at the grinning boy beside her. Looking out the back she noticed a few cars were following them.

"They're... still following... "

"I know, Damn it!"

"Perhaps we ought to get back to the hotel, at least there they wouldn't be allowed to keep following us"

"And spend time with our teams? And wait for Tia to come kill me?" Max shook his head before looking at the driver and saying in perfect Russian "Hey? Please can we try to lose those guys and when we get there can you stop quickly at the north gate then after we jump out keep driving for a while?"

"You'll have to pay me now!" the man grunted uncharitably he was obviously suspicious of the young couple and wasn't sure they could afford their ride. Max handed over a wad of notes and as they stopped at the lights the driver checked the money, he gave a low whistle as he saw how much he had been given and though Millie didn't know what had been said she noticed that he drove a lot faster after that.

Finally they turned a sharp corner, they were near a large park entrance but Millie didn't have time to look at tit properly and Max dragged her from the car and ran in. The two of them kept running for a few minutes until Max led them down a bank into an area hidden by trees and bushes, as they were making their way down the bank Millie tripped and the two of them fell, rolling together down the embankment until they reached the bottom with a thud.

"Millie are you OK?" Max gasped, he was practically lying on top of her but he didn't seem to notice so he didn't move he just held himself up on his hands and looked down in a concerned way

"I think so" Millie shook her head dazedly before looking up at him and noticing the graze on Max's forehead "How about you?"

"I'm fine, but…." still leaning over her he looked around "I think we're alone now, doesn't seem to be anyone around"

"Ya think?" Millie asked teasingly "So how come you know this place? You bring all the girls here?"

"No" Max blushed "but I was worried that those bloodhounds would guess where we got out of the car and come looking for us."

"Um… well could you perhaps get off me?" she asked nervously "That way they can't get any embarrassing or suggestive photos of us if we do get caught"

"Oh… Oh!" Max suddenly realised the position they were in, he slowly got up and standing looked around, Millie sat at his feet gingerly feeling her arms and legs to make sure she hadn't been hurt.

"So….? You didn't answer my question" Millie reminded him

"What question?"

"How do you know this place?"

"Oh Tyson and I found it once when we were hiding from Kai, he was making us practice all day and we needed a break. We were training in the park and when we escaped Tyson fell down here and we ended up hiding for about an hour. It was only when we had a pizza delivered to us that Kai finally caught us"

Millie giggled "Kai sounds like a slave driver"

"He's better than Emily" Max shrugged carelessly, but he noticed that Millie suddenly went silent and looked very pensive, he thought back over what he could have said to upset her and then realised.

'_Damn, shouldn't have mentioned my ex. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'_

"Millie?" Max knelt in front of the girl and said in what he hoped was a comforting voice "I'm over Emily, you know that right?"

"You are?" She looked up at him with those beautiful grey blue eyes and he nodded

"Yeah, and do you know why I'm over her?"

"No" she shook her head and Max grinned

"Because I met this amazing, loyal, brave, and beautiful girl" Max took Millie's blushing face in his hands "and no one could ever compare to her. So even if Emily were to beg me to take her back…"

"She wouldn't get you" Millie finished for him

"Exactly" Max nodded in agreement

"Cos I wouldn't let you go!" the blonde told him leaning up and kissing him.

--

"So with the failure of plan B we have decided to begin plan A"

"Is it just me or does that sound incredibly backward?" Samantha asked with a glare at Horatio, Brady glanced nervously at his wife. Ever since they had returned to Russia she had been constantly answering back and insulting his father.

"My dear girl" Horatio spoke with a smoothness that immediately set alarm bells ringing for the couple, when he was in this mood anything could happen "You know about our reasons for giving up on our original plan"

"I also know you're an asshole but that doesn't make any of this any easier" Samantha muttered to herself, Brady couldn't help it, he grinned whatever his father had done to his wife he hadn't broken her, she was still the strong woman she had always been.

"Father" as Brady spoke he put a calming hand on his wife's arm "I do not think reverting back to plan A is a good idea. Hilary now knows about you, she will not believe you whatever you tell her"

"But that's what makes this plan so perfect, I can make her believe anything I say"

"Father she is not some mindless drone…."

"No, but I can make her one." Horatio smiled, it seemed odd to Brady how a smile could appear so frightening. The grin widened reminding all who saw it of a jack-o-lantern, one of those grinning hollowed out pumpkin heads that people insisted on having at Halloween.

"You wouldn't" Samantha shook her head apprehensively, for the first time since Brady had been reunited with his wife he saw fear in her eyes "You just wouldn't."

"Yes I'm afraid I would"

--

The Blitzkrieg boys were all looking tired as they posed alongside most of the PPB All Starz (Max was still missing), it was a small promo for the next games. There was no way that these two teams would be up against each other unless they both got to the final. Tommorrow the Blade Breakers would be up against Team Thunderbolt, Team Reformation would be against Allied Adversaries. Most people were putting money on the Blade breakers getting to the final, after all they were all waiting to see the traditional showdown between Kai and Tyson.

Kai sighed as he thought about the final, he knew what everyone was expecting, the usual violent battle where he and Tyson exchanged angst filled remarks until one of them (so far Tyson every time) eventually won.

Finally the photographers were finished and various people tried to interview them about their 'thoughts and feelings' about the previous and impending games.

After a few seconds of grunting unemotionally Kai managed to slip away, he really wasn't in the mood for all that. What he really wanted to do was get away to see Hilary, he had been annoyed when their makeout session had been interrupted, and he had been equally annoyed when Hilary had refused to continue, she had walked off saying that she had work to do.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to find her, even when they all went into the hotel dining room she hadn't been present. Actually none of the girls were there Millie, Ming-Ming, Emily Matilda and Mariah were all been noticeably absent from the dining room. He sat at the table barely touching his food and not really joining in the conversation. It wasn't until Max (who was running late) walked in and after filling up his plate sat down that Kai couldn't help but be drawn into the conversation

"So you and Millie huh?" Tyson asked eloquently

"Yeah, tell us all about it" Rick said with a grin

Max blushed but nodded, he was very aware of the fact that Millie's team (aka her cousins) were sitting at the table. So he shrugged "We're dating, that's all really"

"It had better be" muttered one of Millie's cousins as he gave Max a piercing look.

"It is" Max confirmed, "and even if it wasn't I wouldn't talk about her like that!"

"Aw that's sweet" Tala sighed before looking at Max with an evil glint in his eye "of course you know she won't be keeping to that"

"What do you mean?" Max looked at him curiously

"I mean that girls tell each other everything" Tala told him and Kai remembered Tala once telling him that.

"Everything?" Max asked

"Oh yeah!" Miguel nodded joining in the conversation "Technique, looks, how you treat them, stamina, girth"

"Girth?" questioned Bryan looking annoyed "Why would they do that?"

"Relax Bry" Kai told him with a grin "after all it's not the size…."

"Its how you use it" the other boys mockingly chorused.

--

"Hey Tia, so are we going down to dinner or what?" Millie knocked at the door to Tia and Hilary's suite

"Um…yeah, just come in a moment!" Tia called our "the doors open"

Poor unsuspecting Millie opened the door and walked into the dark suite, as she put up a hand to switch in the lights the door slammed behind her and she heard the lock click.

"Tia this isn't funny" Millie whimpered when suddenly the lights went on to reveal Mariah, Ming-Ming, Tia, Matilda, and Hilary all grinning "What's going on?" Millie asked cluelessly

"It's obvious" Matilda said with a grin, "it's interrogation time!"

"Guys!" Millie moaned "do we have to do this?"

"Yep, we have all the girl talk essentials, pizza, fizzy drinks, ice cream and cheesy pop music" Mariah nodded "but don't worry you're not the only one under scrutiny tonight!"

"What do you mean?" Millie asked

"They mean me" Hilary told her with a sigh "Mariah already told Tia, Ming-Ming and Matilda so I might as well let you in on the secret too. Kai and I are a couple"

Millie squealed as she hugged Hilary "oh my god, do you remember that time in the coffee place where we told each other who we liked?"

"Yeah"

"Who would have thought then we would both end up with our crushes!!"

"I dunno but helping him get through a fatal illness might have had something to do with mine and Kai's relationship"

"What?" Ming Ming and Matilda stared at Hilary and so after threatening them with death if they ever told anyone Hilary briefly filled them in on what had happened. She left out a lot of stuff, mainly about her uncle and grandfather, after all Voltaire and Boris they had both heard of!

"You guys really have a weird relationship" Ming Ming said grinning

"Thanks" Hilary was sarcastic as she replied

"No I just mean that while most couples are hanging out having hour long make out sessions and talking for ages about how you feel, and when you started to realise you like each other, and what you like about each other et-cetera, et-cetera. You and Kai have had to discover a cure for his illness, got into a drug shootout and dealt with Ray and Mariah's crisis." Ming Ming shrugged and most of the girls nodded

"Well the drug shootout was before we got together but Kai have long conversations? I can't imagine that!" Hilary giggled

"But the hour long make out sessions?" Matilda asked teasingly

"Well we do that" Hilary had a silly smile on her face as she thought about Kai "or at least we would if we stopped getting interrupted"

"Oh god she's got that stupid grin again" Tia groaned

"What can I say? He's a great kisser! Anyway enough about me, Millie?"

"Oh no" Millie felt hunted as the girls turned on her again "I was hoping I'd been forgotten"

The girls talked for a long time but soon ended the conversation when they saw how late it had gotten, after all Millie and Matilda may like each other but they were still competing against each other tomorrow. Hilary grinned as she cleared up empty pizza boxes, she had lied to the girls and denied the fact that she and Kai were sleeping together. It was odd but she didn't feel right talking about that, what she and Kai did together was private and she could see no real reason to share it with the girls.

At that moment her phone in her pocket began to vibrate, pulling it out she stared at it and smiled , she let it go on for a little longer before flipping the phone open. After all she didn't want him to think she had been waiting for him to call.

"Hey"

"Hi Kai" she couldn't stop the silly smile that reached her lips, god she'd have to do something about that.

"You still awake?"

"No, I'm currently sleep talking, on my phone!"

"And moving around by the sounds of it, but then you've been moving around for a little while." Hilary smiled to herself, so Kai was outside the door was he?

"Yeah me and Tia are cleaning up!"

"Really cos I thought you told her to get some sleep about ten minutes ago" Kai told her with a smirk

"How long have you been out there?" Hilary asked incredulously

"Not long, long enough to know that Tia's in bed and is probably asleep by now"

"What are you hinting at Hiwatari?"

"Can't you guess?"

--

Hilary's eyes snapped open, beside her Kai drenched in sweat was moving restlessly, he was still sleeping but he was muttering and moving around, he was dreaming again.

"No…please, No more."

"Kai?" Hilary pushed herself up and stared down at him, he started thrashing around as though fighting some invisible attacker. This was looking a lot worse than last time.

"Get off me, I won't do this," Kai kept fighting and Hilary had to move away to keep herself from being hurt "leave me alone Voltaire!"

Hearing that name combined with the fear and pain in Kai's voice Hilary moved back towards him trying to grab his hands as they fought pointlessly with the air

"KAI!" Suddenly something hit her in the eye and her head snapped back, shocked she froze wanting to move away to avoid being hurt again. Still he continued to fight and soon her worry drew her towards him and she was back at his side, this time she threw herself onto Kai's chest and moved her head next to his yelling into his ear "KAI!" then dropping her voice she pleaded with him like she had when he had been unconscious after the treatment "Kai don't leave me all alone. Please"

After a few minutes of this gentle and soothing muttering he calmed and the movement stopped. Unintentionally Hilary tightened her grip on his chest, and soon Kai started to wake up "Hils?"

Sighing with relief she remained where she was, crying a little as she felt his arms surround her holding her closer to him. "It's alright" she whispered thankfully "I'm right here"

His voice trembled fearfully "I dreamed about the abbey it was…it was…."

"I know, don't try to go back there. Just stay with me….don't leave me alone"

Trying to fight falling asleep this time Kai muttered "Did I…did I scare you?"

Hilary paused before she answered, she didn't want to tell him what had happened but the pain in her eye was throbbing badly and she was pretty sure there would be a bruise, maybe worse. Of course Kai never seemed to remember the dreams next morning so she would find another way to explain away the bruise

"We'll talk about it in the morning, just get some sleep"

As before Kai held her close clinging to her, she was pretty sure that in the morning he would have forgotten the dream ad that was fine by her. Carefully running her fingers through his hair she whispered more soothing words to him until finally he fell asleep.

* * *

Ok so we have more developments, part of me wonders whether or not I should just stop this story at the end of the tournament and start a sequel to finish it off. It's getting to be a bit like season three (which I wanted to end after the tournament) continuing just to finish everything off.

Thoughts anyone, we could have like a long seventy (just guessing I don't think it will be seventy) chapter story or two shorter ones?

Anyway please R&R if you can!!


	41. A new plan, a new danger

I have had a lot of time recently so the next chapter is ready a lot sooner than normal

This is going to sound totally ditsy but I have only just discovered how to check and see how many hits my stories get. I have been on this site for ages now and I only just worked this out, god I'm dumb sometimes.

Ok, some time has passed and some more teams have got knocked out. I am so sorry for being so lazy but I can't be bothered to write out every single beybattle.

BTW I do not own beyblade

* * *

The next morning Hilary awoke to an empty bed she was worried for a couple of moments then noticed a note on the pillow next to her. She picked it up as she rolled off the bed

_Hilary_

_I didn't want to wake you, I have gone to _

_train with the guys. Plus I thought I better_

_go before Tia wakes up._

_Kai_

Reading as she made her way to her dressing table Hilary placed the note down and looked up at the mirror

"HOLY SHIT!" Hilary stared at her left eye in complete disbelief, the skin around her eye was dark and looking very purple. She sat down looking at her reflection feeling more and more despondent, Hilary wasn't sure how long she had been there but soon something interrupted her thoughts.

"Hilary? Come on sleeping beauty….." Tia was knocking at the door. 'Oh God' she couldn't face her friends, especially not Tia, how would she explain all this? How could she hide the bruise? "The others are here, are you awake?"

"I'm awake I just don't feel to good….," She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh... um nothing!"

"That makes absolutely no sense! I'm coming in" Tia burst through the door before Hilary could protest "You don't seem ill" the blonde declared looking over at her

"I just don't want to do anything" Hilary kept her head down letting her hair fall over her eyes but it was a useless gesture. As quickly as she could with her stick Tia crossed the floor and took Hilary's face in her hands

"Oh my god Hilary! What happened to your eye?" Tia was shocked at the bruise surrounding Hilary's left eye.

"It doesn't matter" she muttered

"What's wrong?" Mariah appeared at the door and immediately saw Hilary's injury "Oh my god!"

"She says it doesn't matter" Tia mocked her friend as she imitated her

"How can it not matter?" Mariah asked "who did that?"

Hilary decided that the only way to get through this was to tell the truth "Kai kinda…."

"Kai?" Tia asked "KAI DID THIS TO YOU?" She began to march (as impressively as she could with her crutch) out of Hilary's room and towards the door. Millie who was still standing waiting watched wide eyed unsure of what to do.

"NO!" Hilary ran to block the doorway "it's not like that! He didn't mean too!"

"Hilary I used to say that after Jack hit me and what did you say then?"

"No really! Listen!" Hilary grabbed her friends arm and dragged her to the couch, sitting down and forcing her to sit as well "Look since the cybernetics were destroyed Kai's been having these really vivid and traumatising nightmares. Normally when he begins to move around and….well freak out! I keep out of the way but I just couldn't this time. Last night was really, really bad and he accidentally whacked me."

"Oh god" Mariah also dropped down on the seat and wrapped an arm around Hilary "Poor Kai"

"Yeah that sounds terrible" Tia agreed

"Waaaaait a second!" Millie held up a hand and gave Hilary a very speculative look "How come Kai was here with you when he was having these nightmares anyway?"

"Oh….um!" Hilary paused looking down at her hands trying to stop the silly smile on her face from widening.

"You and Kai are….?" Millie asked grinning

"Uh-huh" Hilary nodded

"Hilary YOU LIAR!" Tia laughed as she hugged the girl next to her "Last night you said nothing like that had happened, when did this all start? And how come…."

"Oh my god, I can't believe this! And why didn't you tell me?" Mariah asked sounding offended "you promised to tell me when you first…"

"Oh my god! How come none of us twigged that…."

"GUYS!" Hilary stopped the surge of questions, laughing she explained "It happened just after the whole treatment thing, I really thought he was going to die! When he survived and then I almost died…., I didn't tell because I was afraid this whole thing would end up being some one night stand or….the thing is he seems to want more than that. And none of you 'twigged' as Millie so **intelligently **put it…"

"Ooooh Sarcasm" Millie giggled pretending to be offended

"…because we've been careful, we spend time together when no one will notice we're both gone and we make sure we're… well we make sure we're quiet" she shrugged trying not to blush

"Aw my little girl is all grown up" Tia pretended to wipe a tear from her eye

"Well this is all very well but what are we going to do about that?" Mariah asked pointing at Hilary's eye, "we need to hide it or else people are going to start asking questions."

"And that's where I come in! I'm an expert with all this" there was a sad look in Tia's eyes as she said this. "Anyone got any…."

"Make up?" Mariah opened out her bag and from it took a small make up bag "only always!!"

"This'll hurt" Tia warned

"It already does" Hilary sighed sounding exhausted, Mariah hugged her tighter exchanging concerned looks with Tia and Millie.

--

"So you'll be coming home soon?"

"Yeah" Lee sighed down the phone, he had really hoped that maybe for once there was a chance that a team other than the blade breakers would win this year. But that wasn't the most pressuring thought on his mind "Um….mum"

"Yes?" his mother asked

"Have you spoken to Mariah at all….I know she was going to…."

"When you get home we'll have to talk to your sensei about a different training schedule" his mother interrupted him totally changing the subject

"Yeah mum, that sounds great but about Mariah…."

"We will not mention her again" the voice at the other end of the phone was cold and calculating. Lee was surprised by the tone.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Mariah had made her choice, I warned her against Ray but she didn't listen, she decided to follow her own path. You know she cannot return to the village, you're father has decided that her name is never to be mentioned in our household"

"That's a little extreme don't you think?"

"It is **our **decision, you will not argue with it."

"I just think that…"

"Please Lee, she couldn't come back to the village even if we wanted her to. You know how the village elders are about these things, it's better if we just get her to stay away."

"I have to go" Lee hung up the phone, how could his parents be so blasé about rejecting their daughter. Ok what they had said was true, the village elders were hopelessly old fashioned but then…. It was the bit about 'even if we wanted her to' of course they should want her to come home. Mariah was their only daughter, his only sister.

'Oh damn it' Lee was beginning to side with Ray and Mariah now.

"I take it that your parents are pretty mad" Kevin and Gary watched as Lee ran a hand through his hair

"They've disowned Mariah"

"Wow, that's a little extreme" Kevin asked "I mean it's not like she got pregnant on some one night strand. This is Ray we're talking about."

"Yeah thanks for that" Lee shrugged "Hey what do you mean about a one night stand? Has she ever had a one night stand" He grabbed Kevin by the neck and pushed him up against the wall "Tell me what you know!!"

"Lee you really need to look into anger management" Gary grabbed Lee and dragged him away from Kevin "just relax"

"Thanks Gary" Kevin sat down massaging his throat "I was just saying that Mariah and Ray are pretty solid, if only he'd gotten around to proposing before the whole pregnancy thing"

"Propose?" Lee asked curiously

"Yeah" Kevin grinned "I'm not supposed to know but Ray got a message home asking his uncle if he could have his grandmothers engagement ring. They sent it a few of days ago."

"Oh" Lee paused, that did kind of change things

"Look Lee, we understand. Gary and I are going to miss you three"

"Huh" Lee looked at his team mate curiously then grinned understanding what he meant "but we'll still team up for next year right?"

"Sure thing, any idea what you're going to do?" Gary asked

"Not a clue" Lee shrugged "first thing I got to do I suppose is apologise to Mariah and **Ray**" Lee growled out the last part grinding his teeth.

"You're going to have to stop saying Rays name like it's a curse word before they accept your apology" Kevin grinned at Lee's expression of disgust at this suggestion.

--

Hilary felt very self conscious that day as she did her work, luckily for her Tia had managed to hide the bruise with some very carefully applied make up but it was very itchy and she couldn't scratch her eye. If she did that she would hurt herself and remove some of the makeup.

Mr Dickenson had quickly accepted the fact that Hilary had employed Tia to help her and the two of them were managing to catch up quickly with all the work Hilary had missed. Right now the two of them were sitting on the floor of the lobby in the hotel sorting through papers, there was a large cup of coffee beside each of them and an open tin of cookies in between them.

"Ok so the flights to Japan all seem to be ready, the hotels are prepared, we've warned them about Tyson's eating habits thought they mostly already knew! and the stadium is finally finished."

"Until Tyson and Kai go up against each other" Tia laughed "Then they can begin building again"

"We don't know that it will be those two teams…." Hilary stopped realising what she was saying. "I'll shut up now."

"Yes we do, it's the same every year, Blitzkrieg Boys versus Blade Breakers Kai and Tyson's battle is the decider, you're just lucky that it's always so amazing otherwise the fans would get very bored very quickly"

Hilary placed her hands behind her and sat back leaning to stare at the ceiling "Am I wrong to be wanting a different outcome this year?"

"You want your boyfriend to win" Tia teased in a sing song voice

"Shut up!"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting your boyfriend to achieve his goal"

"There is if it means stopping one of my best friends from achieving his goal"

"Oh please…, Tyson has won this thing what? Six times? Kai deserves to win simply because of his dedication"

"I know but I'm a Blade Breaker, even the papers still refer to me as a Blade Breaker"

"Oh please I'm more of a beyblader than you are"

"Yeah because you can actually beyblade, I will never try again"

"Is it true you almost killed someone on a bus once by…."

"Anyway" Hilary cut her friend off, blushing brightly "I've always backed Tyson, no matter what"

"But now you've fallen in love with…"

"Shut up!"

"But you do love him right?" Tia raised her eyebrows pointedly

"Yeah" Hilary admitted, "I don't know what it is, it isn't that he's Kai, or that he's good looking, or even the amount of times he's saved my life. It's something else, it's the way he makes me feel. Tia I can honestly say that this is the happiest I've ever been"

"Even though you've just found out that the vast majority of your family are liars and some of them are lunatics?"

"Tia I feel as though I can survive anything as long as he's there. The thing is I haven't even told him that I love him yet, I'm worried he'd freak! You should ask Mariah what I was always like when someone told me they loved me."

"That's was because you didn't love them back! And Besides you have shown him how you feel!" Tia teased her even more "you and he are gonna get married and have babies"

"Stop it"

"Hilary Hiwatari" Tia announced quite loudly

"I mean it! Stop it" Hilary hissed looking around, luckily for her there were no reporters around. As she looked left she noticed Tyson walking in with Max and Millie, she waved to them and they walked and sat down, Tyson immediately grabbed a cookie and crammed it in his mouth

"Nice Tyson" Max commented, Millie giggled and Max grinned at her, brushing a hand against her cheek he moved his head near her ear and whispered something. Millie blushed and kissed him on the nose, then they resorted to pressing their foreheads together and staring into each others eyes

"Could they be any more sickeningly sweet?" Hilary asked as Tia pretended to retch "And Tyson he's right you need to eat more tidily"

Swallowing his mouthful Tyson defended himself "Is tidily even a word? These are the best cookies ever!"

"Thank you" Tia said smiling "and I think it is a word."

"You made these" Tyson looked up at the blonde "They're really good" he complimented

"I've had a lot of time on my hands recently, I think I've perfected the art of making choc chip cookies! Not exactly a noble goal though"

"I think it's pretty noble" Tyson joked "there is an art to making perfect cookies!"

"Hey Tia" Millie said finally pulling her gaze from Max's "have you called your mum yet?"

"I don't wanna!" Tia moaned

"Tia you got to face her sometime" Hilary pointed out

"What's the worst that could happen?" Tyson asked

"The worst that could happen?" Tia enquired "I'll tell you what the worst that could happen is. My mum can finally give her I told you so speech, she will then call my uncle, Millie's dad and get him to lecture me and offer me a job. If I don't take the job she will take away my trust fund. We had an agreement that as long as I stayed employed I could use the interest and a small allowance from my trust fund to finance myself until I got a contract and steady employment. Without that fund I got nothing."

"Ouch" Tyson muttered unsure of what to say

"Oh for Gods sake Tia" Hilary sighed "you're coming to Japan, you're staying with me and we'll think of a new career for you to take an interest in."

"Hilary I only know how to dance"

"You could do anything and you know it, you could even go back to school and study science. I mean you did love it."

"I know but mum really wanted me to be a scientist, that's kind of why I didn't do it"

"And you love editing and directing, you once spoke about editing and directing music videos, you could take a course in that"

"Mum suggested that one too! Again I didn't do it to annoy her!"

"Ever heard of cutting off your nose to spite your face?" Tyson asked amused

"I'm surprised you have!" A voice cut into the conversation, turning they found that Ray and Mariah were standing nearby arms around each other and smiling in a way that only Max and Millie thought was not unbearably saccharine.

"Hey Ray" Hilary gave her friend a smile but Ray could see from the way her teeth gritted together that she was worried about whatever she was about to tell him.

"What's wrong Hils?" Ray asked giving her look that Hilary knew meant trouble if she didn't tell him what was wrong it would mean trouble. Mariah also watched as Hilary nervously fidgeted with her papers.

"Ray you know that job I arranged for you?"

"Yeah"

"Well, Mr D wanted there to be more trainers like you and I just offered someone else a job. You know as a trainer"

"What's wrong with that?" Ray frowned as he waited to hear more of Hilary's explanation

"Well….," Hilary bit her lip "before I tell you about it all, you have to let me explain everything."

"Perhaps I ought to explain" Lee stood nervously in the doorway

"**Lee**"

"**Ray**"

Mariah glared at Hilary

"**Hilary?**"

"Just let him explain" Hilary held up her hands trying to ignore the muffled laughing from the others. She sent Millie and Max a glare but it just made the two of them laugh even more, god they had gotten all annoyingly lovey dovey since they had started dating. She was starting to regret that she had even considered encouraging them to become a couple

"Mariah I…, I spoke to mum"

"More than I did, she hung up the moment I said pregnant" Mariah muttered

"Yeah there's a reason for that"

"I know!" Mariah shrugged trying to sound as though she didn't care "I've been disowned, and mum and dad no longer want anything to do with me. And I'll bet you aren't allowed to talk to me either"

"I'm not…., but I kind of told mum and dad that I didn't agree with what they were doing and that I was going to stick around to support you…." Lee shrugged "you know if you're ok with that"

Mariah threw her arms around her brothers neck, "Thank you Lee" she whispered into his ear. Ray just smiled, he and Lee weren't going to see eye to eye for a while but as long as Mariah was happy he didn't care.

More than one eye welled up as they watched Mariah and Lee, it was nice to see things work out relatively easily. Hilary wiped at her eyes wincing as she touched her sore eye…. Ooops!

"Oh my God! Hilary what happened to your eye?" Tyson asked practically shouting as he stared at her bruised face, Hilary paused, everyone was staring at her now

"Um….funny story" Hilary gave a nervous giggle

"Well tell it" Tyson urged feeling worried

The girls exchanged glances. The silence seemed interminable as everyone waited for Hilary to answer, she gave her nervous laugh again.

Suddenly a voice cut through the awkward quiet "It's OK Hilary there's no need to lie for me, after all it was an accident!"

Everyone turned to stare at the little blonde who had spoken, she stood beside Max smiling nervously and as everyone turned to stare at her Millie blushed making her way to Hilary's side.

"You did that?" Max asked surprised as he pointed to Hilary's eye

"Yeah I was demonstrating some of my Tai Kwon Do to the girls but Hilary ducked to move out of the way when I kicked and…" she trailed off helplessly "It was an accident but I felt really bad, so Hilary said she wouldn't tell anyone."

Hilary grinned quite willing to join in this deception "You did tell me not to move" Hilary nodded looking for all the world as though she was agreeing but the other girls knew she was giving her thanks to the blonde. It looked like they were going to get away with it.

"You can't kick that high" Ray said suspiciously "Tia herself said you couldn't fight and…" Ray stopped talking and quickly moved backwards as Millie's foot suddenly arrived by his eye

Everyone stared at Millie as she stood there on one leg with the other leg high in the air.

"Wow" Tyson gave a chuckle "Max struck it lucky"

Millie grinned at Ray before lowering her foot back to the floor "I never use it except as an art form, I hate to hurt people but yeah I can do it" she smiled a trifle smugly. She hated how people immediately thought she couldn't look after herself just because she always made a conscious decision not to fight.

--

Sitting in a cell in Russia a once happy married couple sat watching their son sleep, the two of them had been awake for hours.

Neither had said much of any significance as they both remained lost in thought trying to work out what to do next. Neither of them said anything about any plans as they tried plotting escape. Neither of them wanted to admit to the other that they thought it was a hopeless situation.

Finally Brady gave up thinking about escape, he started to wonder what his father was planning, it had been evident from Samantha's reaction that she had an idea about what was going on.

"What does my father plan to do Sam?" as he asked this she looked at him confusedly, Brady sat put an arm around his wife "please tell me what he meant about making Hilary a mindless drone."

Samantha sighed unhappily, "You remember professor Wingblade?"

"Yeah"

"You remember what he specialised in?"

Brady frowned and screwed up his face as he tried to remember first of all who professor Wingblade was an second of all what he did. "Wasn't he the guy with orange hair at dads lab?" Samantha nodded "He was working on some memory retrieval thing wasn't he?"

Samantha shook her head nervously "Not retrieval, suppression, he discovered a way to basically erase a persons memories without performing any operations. It's a serum that's very easy to use. It destroys a persons memories"

"Forever?" Brady asked horrified

"No one they ever tested it on ever retrieved any of their memories, it's like a completely clean slate, and their really susceptible afterwards, they believe pretty much anything you tell them. Even their personality disappears."

"So… that's what father plans to do to Hilary, he's going to remove her memories?"

"And when he does, he'll put plan A into action,"

Brady sat thinking, he couldn't help but wonder at the scientific work that must have gone into this discovery but he was appalled by the idea that anyone would use it. "Plan A is just a theory, a hypothesis, he can't be willing to completely destroy Hilary just for a test that may never work."

"Brady" Samantha patted his arm in a sympathetic way "he was willing to kill the blitzkrieg boys, I've seen him shoot men without a second thought. I know Hilary is his granddaughter but… you're his son and he's done terrible things to you. Look at what he's made you do!"

"But even if it does work they'll be too old to see it through!" Brady stood and started to pace as he thought this through "Plan A will take years to come into fruition how can they in all consciousness do this?"

"Boris will continue their plans, part of me thinks they won't care if they don't see the plan through as long as they start it in motion." Samantha tried to soothe her husband but he was getting angrier by the second. "It's his legacy to the world."

"He's an idiot though if he thinks that when all this is over he'll make any real difference to the world. He won't be around, he should be more concerned about his mortal soul than his legacy"

"He probably sold his soul some time ago" Samantha jokes

"Yeah" Brady nodded in agreement flashing his wife a small smile "but you know…. part of me still wants to see him as… it's stupid just ignore me." he sat down next to where his son slept feeling defeated, putting out a hand he stroked his sons head gently "Just ignore me" he repeated

"OK!" Samantha grinned and making her way over to sit beside him kissed him on the cheek "Brady we need to get out of here, and if we can't do that we need to find a way to warn Hilary."

"I know"

--

"They're planning something" Voltaire muttered to Horatio as they watched Brady and Samantha in their cell, after their initial conversation the two of them were careful to keep their voices low so that the bugging devices in their cell wouldn't pick up on what they were saying.

"It doesn't matter, all we need is Hilary, here in our power." Horatio muttered watching the screen carefully and turning up the volume to maximum power

"Getting hold of her could be tricky"

"Tricky is a bit of an understatement" the two men moved their gazes from the screen over to the doorway where Boris stood

"Kidnapping used to be one of your specialties" Horatio commented "am I to assume that it will no longer be on your resume?"

"That was before the Blitzkrieg Boys hooked up with the Blade Breakers, since that happened anyone close to them that I need to get hold of is an impossibility. My kidnapping capabilities have taken a real blow. "

"Well do something to restore them, we need Hilary here soon" Horatio commanded, Boris nodded and moved away "Oh and Boris?"

"Yes sir?"

"Try to get her here alive and as well as is possible."

--

"And so" Mr Dickenson announced to the crowd "the next games, the semi finals will be held here in Russia. The teams that win these semi finals will go on to Japan and will play in the finals"

"Where's the guessing the Blade Breakers won't be up against each other in this round?" Tia muttered to Hilary

"Shut up" Hilary whispered trying not to giggle

"C'mon if he just put Tyson and Kai up against each other now it wouldn't be them two in the finals."

"I know but all this is randomly selected by computer"

"Well if I were him I'd fix it"

Hilary gave Tia a quick glare then returned her attention to what Mr Dickenson was saying

"….all those teams are willing to come to Japan to display their skills and will be giving advice and training to the lucky fans that have won the competition we ran earlier this year. Now back to tomorrows games tomorrow morning the Blitzkrieg Boys will be up against Team Reformation"

Sitting in the audience Kai swore under his breath, ever since Kendall had attacked Hilary he had been hoping for an opportunity to humiliate him in the stadium. Now he was pretty sure he'd never go up against him. "Bloody Tyson" he muttered, he was bound to beat them.

"And in the afternoon" Mr Dickenson continued "The Blade breakers will face Team Thunderbolt. Now if there are any questions?"

There were a few unimportant questions from various reporters but pretty soon the conference was over. Hilary was pleased to be out of the room, she strode down the corridor giving directions to people about where they needed to go, what needed setting up and when it all needed to be done.

After she had finished being bossy she slipped into one of the disused locker rooms to get a breather. She had always liked telling people what to do but boy this job was boring, it was the same old same old every time. She liked things that challenged her, she liked not knowing what to do and having to spend time researching what to do next. She was actually looking forward to when this was over and she had to go back to studying.

"Still it beats waitressing" she muttered and facing the door prepared to leave the room, she was about open the door when she heard a familiar voice right on the other side

"Again?? We need to talk. Now!"

That sounded like Kendall!

She really didn't want to be alone with him! Moving quickly she ran into the back of the changing rooms where the showers offered her some concealment. It was an open plan shower area but the wall Hilary had flung herself behind would just hide her from view when Kendall entered the room.

Luckily Kendall burst through the door just seconds after she got out of sight.

"Look we talked about this, we were hired to simply observe, now I got no problem with doing a little easy kidnapping but what your asking this time is simply ridiculous….. I got no problem with that but Kai is a force to be reckoned with… We tried this before and it didn't work…. How much?" There was a long pause "Well I'll keep her as unhurt as possible...! Alright, I'll have Hilary delivered to you as soon as possible"

Repressing a gasp Hilary froze, shit was she in the wrong place at the wrong time!

Kendall hung up the phone and hissed angrily. "Fucking Boris" he yelled throwing his phone through the locker room and right into the back wall of the shower area.

Amazingly the phone stayed intact and after a few seconds Kendall sighed and started to walk over to where it lay. While he had stayed in the main part of the locker room a small wall had prevented Kendall from seeing Hilary and her him but as he entered the shower area he was in full view and the instant he turned around he would see her.

Hilary knew she had one chance and the moment Kendall was far enough away she scrambled to her feet and ran.

Hearing something behind him Kendall turned, he was surprised by what he saw but not so surprised that he didn't immediately spring into action. Realising that Hilary would have heard her conversation he chased after her.

Hilary managed to get to the door but Kendall got there at the same time and as she tried to wrench the door open he slammed it shut. Frightened Hilary looked up and saw that malicious smile Kendall so often wore these days. She backed away but now Kendall was blocking her only escape.

Hilary continued moving backwards folding her hands behind her back, as she did this she reached her hand into her pocket. Her phone was in her back pocket, and it didn't take long to speed dial the number. Kendall started to walk toward her, her breath was getting ragged as she watched him.

She backed away from the terrifying man, she knew she had dialled for help she just had to hope someone picked up.

* * *

Please R&R


	42. Semi finals: part 1

I would just like to apologise for any spelling errors in these chapters, I sometimes forget to double check my spelling I'm so anxious to put the chapter up.

I also know that we may all be about to die on Wednesday so who cares about some bad spelling?!

More beyblading here, less bad guys!!

Thanks for all the reviews!

By the way special thanks go to Star Shinobi for the naming of Millie's beyblade here! Thanks so much

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Kai was annoyed, he hadn't really wanted to be here hanging out with the teams, he had only agreed to join them thinking Hilary would be here. As it was he was stuck sitting here with Tyson, Ray and the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys discussing tactics and strategy, normally he would be OK with this but for some reason he found it incredibly boring today.

And just when Kai was just thinking that things couldn't any more annoying when Tia, Mariah, Millie and Max showed up. Kai wasn't sure why but he had gotten very jealous of Max and Ray recently. He suspected that it had something to do with the way they could stand and kiss their girlfriends on he cheek as they arrived at the table, or maybe it was the way they could sit one arm around their girlfriends waist completely openly. But then even when he and Hilary actually announced that they were dating would they be that sort of couple?

Sick of the happy couples he silently he prayed for something, anything to distract him, his phone began to ring. Looking down at his phone Kai smiled, hitting answer he lifted the phone to his ear

"Hello Hilary?"

Silence

"Hilary, are you there??"

"_What's going on Kendall? Why are you doing this?" _Hilary's voice was terrified but she spoke clearly,

Kai's face must have shown how angry he was because everyone in the group turned to look at him curiously

"What's going on Kai?" Tyson asked noticing the usually impassive bladers incensed expression

Kai held up a hand to silence him, then he put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear what as going on

"_Surely you just heard what's going on?"_

"Hey that's Kendall!" Max whispered. The others quickly silenced him as Hilary spoke again

"_Sort of, you're planning on 'delivering' me to someone! I'm guessing that you're trying to kidnap me **again**. Dare I ask who is behind it this time??"_

"_Who do you think?"_

"_Boris"_

"_Got it in one"_

"Come on Hilary" Tala muttered "tell us where you are" everyone was looking as worried as Kai now.

"_Do you even know what he wants with me?"_

"_I personally don't give a shit" _there was a noise, a scuffle on the other end of the phone and they heard Hilary suddenly cry out in pain. There was anger on everyone's faces as they sat waiting helplessly for more. _"nice try"_

Panting a little Hilary made her reply_ "Thank you. I almost made it, look just get out of my way bastard whatever Boris may want with me he won't get it."_

"_You get all cute when you're angry" _this snide remark made Kai looked as though he was about to put a whole in the table. Tyson was certain that if Kendall had been in range his head would be going through the nearest wall.

"_And you're sick. You know someone could walk in here any moment now"_

"_Doubt it, this was the BEGA teams locker room, thanks to sweet little Max and Millie they got knocked out."_

"Perfect!" Ray yelled and everyone jumped up from where they were sitting and started to run.

--

Hilary couldn't help but smile a little as Kendall unwittingly told everyone where they were, that's if anyone was listening, she didn't dare look at her phone to see. She was pretty sure Kai would have answered but still she knew that she needed to buy some time.

She was still hurt from the last attempt she had made to escape, Kendall had really wrenched her arm as he grabbed her, she had mainly done it in the hope that she might be able to get the phone close to her ear so she could find out if "Why do you work for him?"

"I have my reasons and besides the moneys good" Kendall shrugged, "now if we're quite finished?!"

Kendall marched forward and grabbed Hilary by the arms, he shook her as he did this and the phone Hilary had been holding dropped to the floor. She groaned and smiled sheepishly

Still holding her arm Kendall looked down his eyes widened "What's this?" he picked up the phone and held it to his ear, as he listened he heard at least two voices one yelling directions and the other yelling at people to 'pick up the pace'.

Standing up straight he glared at Hilary "You little bitch!" he swung full force and slapped her

He hit her already tender face causing her to almost black out from the agonizing pain. Dazed and afraid Hilary fell to the ground, and with one hand to her face and the other on the floor began pushing herself back. Using her feet to aid her she was soon back in the shower area. Fuelled by rage Kendall came after her kicking at her as she continued to try and move away, finally grabbing her by the shoulders again he pulled her up and threw her against the wall unintentionally switching on one of the showers and drenching them both with cold water.

"You are gonna pay for all the trouble you've caused me"

"And you're gonna pay when my friends get here" she tried to sound brave but Hilary still wasn't even sure that her friends were actually going to get there in time, or if they were even coming.

Turning to face the door Kendall listened carefully someone, a large group actually was definitely headed this way, he turned to Hilary eyes filled with anger, he slammed her up against the wall again making her cry out as her head hit the tiling.

"I'll kill you for this. I swear to **god **I'll kill you"

And with that he dropped her and ran from the room. For a second Hilary calmly stood awaiting her rescue team, then what he said hit home, she felt afraid all of a sudden, she felt very, very afraid. Her tough façade crumbled and sinking down to the floor she drew her knees up to her chest and waited.

--

Everyone was running fast, even Tia on her bad leg managed to keep up but for once Kai was at the front of a group of runners. He had never been the best runner, in fact when he trained with his teams he was usually at the back but this time he was moving faster than he knew he could.

Still ahead of the others Kai ran into the locker room and looked around, at first he saw no one and cursed himself for being to late then he heard it. One of the showers was running, he walked cautiously forward and saw something that caused anger to rise up inside his chest. Hilary was huddled in the corner of the stalls, the shower above her was still running and she was making no effort to stop it. Quietly moving forward Kai was kneeling at her side in an instant, the water beat down on him but he didn't even think to turn it off yet, he needed to make sure she was OK.

"Hilary?"

She flinched at first but then looking up and seeing who it was she smiled, it wasn't a smile Kai liked though, she was smiling her fake 'everything's OK' smile

"My very own superhero on speed dial! One day I'll need you to save me and you'll be busy" she teased trying to pretend she was OK.

"I seriously doubt that" he reassured her, her lip trembled and he took her hand in one of his "what happened exactly?" Kai asked reaching up and turning off the shower as an afterthought

"Just another Psychotic kidnapping situation, of course this time he's said he's going to kill me." Hilary looked over Kai's shoulder to the group standing there "hey guys, you certainly have that 'just in the nick of time' thing down!"

"It's my specialty" Tyson joked trying to cover the anger he was currently feeling

"Lets get you back to the hotel" Kai whispered and barely noticing that she was soaking wet he lifted his girlfriend into his arms and carried her away from the showers. She clung to him, her whole body was trembling and her arms were tight around his neck.

--

They played Rock, Paper Scissors to decide who would be the ones to distract the paparazzi. Tala and Tyson lost, they walked out the stadium arguing and as soon as they were far enough away to allow Kai to sneak Hilary out began to throw out their chests really yelling and finally resorting to an actual fistfight. Bryan, Spencer and Ian teamed with Max and Ray played the part of 'the good friends' trying to stop the fight and stood to one side occasionally trying to pull the boys away from each other. Actually Tala and Tyson kind of enjoyed it.

Safe in her boyfriends arms travelling back to the hotel Hilary seemed to drop off to sleep and that made Kai happy, he hated to see her eyes darting around filled with fear. Mariah was driving and didn't notice the tender look that covered Kai's face as he watched her but Millie and Tia did and exchanged knowing smiles.

With Mariah driving round the back of the hotel Kai was able to quickly and carefully take Hilary unnoticed into her suite, Tia was with him and opened up the door for him, she told him which room was Hilary's which he didn't really need to know seeing as how he had slept there more than once but he nodded in a suitably clueless way. Mariah opened the door for Kai and smiled

"Coffee?" she offered he nodded "I'll call you when it's done" she closed the door after him

Inside Hilary's room he carefully placed her on the bed and then when he discovered that she wouldn't let him go lay next to her.

"I hope when you put Tala to bed you don't do this" Hilary whispered as she stretched and rubbed her eyes

"That's a nice thought." Kai grimaced "Did I wake you? I'm so sorry" Kai looked really apologetic, he had hoped to let her sleep a bit longer.

"Don't be," she moved up to kiss him "I like waking up to find you there"

"Is that a fact?" Kai grinned as he returned the kiss his fingers unconsciously going straight for her jacket buttons.

"Not now" Hilary whispered as she looked self consciously at the door where the girls could be heard talking "the others!"

"I was just helping you out of your wet clothes, I don't want you catching cold, what did you think I was doing?" he asked innocently, she glared at him and he grinned before carefully brushing her cheek with one hand "Are you feeling better?"

"No" Hilary began to cry "I'm so sorry"

"For what?" he asked, he was confused by her sudden tears and apology

"Crying like some idiot, I'm just so tired of all this. I want to go to bed at night and not wonder about who's coming after me next. Kendall was talking to Boris, they want me for some reason."

"You don't know why?"

"No but it must be either to do with my work with Brady or they might want to get to you, it could be some sick revenge, I just don't know!!"

"I'll stay here tonight, and don't worry, if he or anyone else even tries to hurt you…." Kai didn't actually finished his threat but his eyes looked hard and his mouth set in a firm and severe line.

"He said he'd kill me" Hilary whimpered

"I'll kill him first" Kai promised, "I would die before I let anyone hurt you."

"Really?" she looked up at him wonderingly, the tone of his voice sounded so determined

"Yeah, you see I, that's why I…I" Kai stopped he knew what he wanted to say but for some reason he couldn't say it.

"You what?"

"I w-wanted to tell you how much you mean to me…I… I really" Kai frowned getting annoyed with himself _'god damn it! why couldn't he just say that he loved her?'_

Hilary grinned at his obvious distress "Kai, you don't have to say it"

"I want to, I…"

Hilary placed a finger over his lips and smiled "It's too early to be saying it, but don't worry. I feel the same way"

Kai sighed in relief "I really want to say it"

"How about we just leave it for now and you can kiss me instead?" she smiled at him seductively

"Now that" Kai told her returning the smile "I can do!" he was leaning in when…..

"Coffee's ready!!" Mariah announced, knocking on the door

"Coming!!" Kai yelled back, he rolled his eyes making Hilary giggle before leaving the room allowing her to get changed.

--

After changing her clothes and drying her hair Hilary walked out of her room to find her friends all sitting with mugs of hot drinks. She watched their cautious smiles, and grinned.

"Coffee?" Mariah offered holding out a steaming hot cup of the aromatic liquid

"Please!" Hilary took the mug gratefully and smiled at the concerned faces watching her, "And really guys I'm OK!!"

"Can you explain what happened?" Tala asked "we need to know what we're dealing with here"

Hilary told them how she had hidden to avoid Kendall and what she had heard, she explained how she had been discovered and shrugged helplessly when she was done "I can't tell you any more, Kendall wasn't exactly forthcoming when it came to explaining. He just told me Boris was behind it."

"We heard that bit" Ray nodded "then Kendall said where you were so we didn't hear anymore really."

"Thanks god he said that" Hilary grinned, "I was trying to think of a way to slip it into the conversation but after that I didn't need to"

"Well if he's after you we need to make sure he doesn't get a chance to get near you." Tala stood and looked around the suite she and Tia shared "Hilary you better come into our suite till we go to Japan. Tia can you go stay with Team Reformation?"

"Yeah I'll crash on the sofa" Tia looked over at Millie who nodded in agreement while Hilary quietly smiled gratefully

"We ought to tell someone" Ray argued "If Mr D knew about all this Kendall would be out of the competition in no time."

"Tell people what?" asked Hilary sounding annoyed "we never told anyone about the illness, and if anyone he attacked speaks out against him its our word against his"

"You're hurt!" Ray exclaimed "are they going to say you did this to yourself?"

"Ray I've been walking around with a black eye all day thanks to K…. " Hilary stopped herself "Thanks to Millie's Tai Kwon Do, and I have no proof it was Kendall, for some strange reason we didn't put security cameras in the locker rooms!!"

"We could find another way to get him out of the competition" Max suggested

"No!" Tala shook his head "While we're in Russia compared to Voltaire we don't have any real back up, all my connections are either doing time or I owe them favours and getting ex abbey students to go up against Boris wouldn't be easy. Kai you know anyone who can help us in Russia?"

"No one that'll be willing to take on Boris, mainly ex abbey students. I could try though"

"Bryan might know someone" Tala muttered, "but personally all this would be easier if he was in the tournament, at least while we're here. That way I can keep an eye on him better."

"Good point" Kai agreed "Plus Renaldo was talking about coming for a visit in Japan, if he's there we'd have some real back up. He says he has some 'business'" as Kai said the word business he made quotation marks with his fingers. "connections over there."

"Tia can come in our suite" Tyson offered "we have a spare room at the moment, it'd probably be better than the sofa in Team Reformation's suite"

"Thanks" Tia and Tyson exchanged a smile, Max was about to tease his friend about it when he saw the clock

"Is that the time?" Max yelled jumping up

"Um…. yes" Hilary nodded checking her watch

"Damn I'm supposed to be training with Rick in ten minutes, Millie we still meeting up tonight?" blushing a little Millie nodded and after stealing a quick kiss Max ran to the door yelling over his shoulder "call me if anything else happens!!" the young blonde was out the door in a flash.

--

It was a lot later in a simple fast food restaurant that Max and Millie were sitting opposite each other eating burgers. Finally when they had finished hand in hand they left. Max noticed that his girlfriend was being very quiet, he knew what was bothering her

"Well you're teams up against the Blitzkrieg boys tomorrow" Max smiled at her "you gonna go easy on them?"

"Hell no!" Millie shook her head and grinned "If I did they'd probably kill me"

"Who you planning on battling?"

"Dunno but I'm going last, I think they're planning on winning the first two so mines not so important. I don't think they even wanted me to play but Peter isn't feeling too good so I may have to."

"But you're better than them" Max said surprised "I've been up against you, you can more than take the Blitzkrieg boys on and the advice you gave before the BEGA battle was really helpful, I still can't believe I beat Brooklyn!"

"I'm just sorry the Blade breakers knocked you out and you didn't get to the semi finals, it could have been you up against either my team or Blitzkrieg boys or Team Thunderbolt"

"Are you sure you'll be OK if you're up against Team Thunderbolt at the end, you might go up against Kendall"

"It's unlikely we'll both beat our opposing teams but actually I'd love that" Millie whispered smiling oddly "Teach him a lesson, for what he did to Hilary!"

"Yeah" Max's jaw became set in a firm line as he clenched his hands "But Kai's probably planning a revenge so I guess I don't need to go kill Kendall."

"That's probably a good thing," Millie said placing a hand over Max's fist her fingers relaxing the hand and linking her fingers with his "I find that the process of hiding a body is incredibly difficult!"

"I'm not really an expert, I guess you have more experience in hiding bodies than I do." he responded seriously, smiling as she went on describing the various difficulties that could arise while they moved Kendall's body around. He nodded as she explained that finding a car with a trunk big enough to place the body in would be tricky and then whispered "I love you"

"of course if we chop up the body….wh-what?" Millie stopped walking and stared at Max,

"I love you," he shrugged "just thought I'd mention it" still smiling he slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her gently

Millie felt weak at the knees and found herself sliding her arms around his neck just to keep herself upright, as Max finally pulled away releasing her lips but still keeping a tight hold on her waist she managed to whisper "Wh….why did? Why…..? Why did you say…?"

"Because I've wanted to for ages"

"Why now?" she whispered biting her lip nervously

"Well from what happened to Hilary it's obvious that we're not exactly safe right now and in the last allconspirer story I almost died" Max shrugged "thought it might be a good idea to say it sooner rather than later"

"Oh!" Millie smiled at him "I was a bit surprised there, would you…, would you mind just saying it again so I remember it more clearly"

"My pleasure I love you"

"I love you too" she whispered grinning Max moved in and took possession of her lips once more.

--

It had been a long and tough series of battles today, unfortunately for Team Reformation whatever happened now the blitzkrieg boys were through to the final, this battle was pointless. For a while team reformation tried to stop Millie from actually competing in the final battle but she had insisted on playing.

Millie didn't like the fact that they had been effectually knocked out by the Blitzkrieg Boys but she wasn't going to just allow them to have their victory. She wanted to get up there and make them see what competition her team really had to offer!

"You could just give up" Tala yelled teasingly to the young blonde

"And you could just shut up" Millie yelled back grinning and surprising her cousins with her confidence

"Hey Millie!" Kai remarked as he looked across the dish "Don't expect me to go easy on you"

Millie was looking down so he couldn't see her reaction, finally smiling she looked at him under lowered eyelashes "Funny…. I was about to say the same to you"

Kai nodded enjoying this girls disillusionment, he knew she was good but good enough to beat Kai Hiwitari of the blitzkrieg boys?

"3...2.…1... Let it rip!"

The two blades were launched and hit the dish simultaneously, Kai was surprised as they attacked each other repeatedly. Millie may look meek and mild but she had some real power there.

Millie grinned as Kai looked at her surprised, sure in terms of size he was definitely the stronger but when she launched her blade into the dish, she owned it! She and her beyblade Tara were a force to be reckoned with and no one could deny that.

Kai was the oldest and most experienced of the two but Millie had a slight edge, it was soon impossible to tell who would win. Several times Kai's beyblade scraped close to the edge and it looked like he was beaten but every time with grim determination he fought his way back into the centre. It wasn't until his beyblade actually flew from the dish that he realised that he would have to take this a hell of a lot more seriously than he intended.

So Millie won the first battle and Kai won the second, a draw that would be decided in one last game. Kai looked back at his team they were not too concerned about whether or not he won after all whatever happened they would win this round and progress to the finals. However it did appear that they were very impressed with the fight Millie had put up, it's very rare to see Kai beaten by anyone but Tyson.

Their final battle was just as impressive, the two of them fighting it out each one desperate to save face in front of their teams and the audience. Finally Kai seemed to lose it, he used an attack that he had been saving for when he went up against Tyson, he rammed the blade repeatedly not giving her time to move. She fought with him but Kai could see that he was tiring her out.

Finally there was an almighty smash as the two blade hit each other in a sort of culmination of their attack, a huge dust cloud arose around the dish and it was impossible to see anything for a moment.

Annoyed at how weak she felt Millie dropped to her knees panting and looking exhausted

"**And after an attack like that it's not surprising that Millie looks out for the count, we can't see anything yet but I bet her beyblades in bad shape too" **The announcer had just officially become Millie's least favourite person in the world.

"Come on Millie!" Max watched helplessly as Millie knelt by the dish, the young girl didn't seem to hear his shouts of encouragement.

The dust around the dish started to settle, they could hear something but no one could tell whether it was one beyblade or two. Kai was pretty confident that the battle was over and started to move away when a low chuckle drew his attention back to the game

"Where do you think you're going?" Millie chuckled again. The dust settled and Kai could see that both Dranzer and Tara were still spinning. He looked amazed, his gaze snapped from the dish and over to his opponent. There was a dark grin on the usually timid blondes face, she rose up, soon she was standing feet apart her head still down and her arms by her sides. Finally she looked up her eyes danced with amusement and the almost demonic smile still graced her lips. "It isn't over till I say it is! Tara you know what to do!"

The light green beyblade suddenly picked up speed and began to attack Kai's Dranzer, the hits where small and short but Kai seemed unable to avoid her quick movements Her power was immense, her anger grew as she looked over the dish to where her opponent stood.

Kai couldn't move away from the quick short attacks, every time he tried to dodge it he found the opposing beyblade hot on his tail. Finally Kai managed to put some distance between him self and her, he quickly moved to the edge of the dish and began moving around the edge at high speed, he continued in this way and soon a wind began to pick up. He smiled enjoying the knowledge that in a few minutes Millie wouldn't be able to keep going and would come to a grinding stop.

Millie knew what was happening she had seen him use this move before, she also knew that there was no way out. This annoyed her, this really annoyed her, it was the last battle she would play this tournament and she wanted to win. There was still a way to win, she had been shown it by her cousin, but she wasn't sure she could do it, she looked down at her feet again feeling dejected.

"MILLIE!" she turned, behind her was Tia standing by the bench she had just left "you can do it" she nodded encouragingly and somehow Millie was filled with a self-confidence that she had always strived for.

Turning back to the dish she knelt down on one knee, closing her eyes and pressing her hands together in front of her face. Tara went to the centre of the dish and remained there as if waiting for the end to come.

"**Praying isn't gonna help Millie"** the announcer proclaimed **"looks like Kai's got the luck of the devil on his side."**

"Who's praying?" Millie asked she remained still for a few seconds more then her eyes snapped open and jumping up she shouted a command. Suddenly her beyblade shot to the side heading for the blur that was Kai's beyblade and amazing Dranzer went shooting out of the dish and landed pointlessly on the ground. Millie's beyblade wavered drunkenly on the edge of the dish for a moment before still spinning it went sliding back into the dish.

"**Um… Millie wins?" **the shock was evident in DJ Jazzman's voice as the applause started up. Soon the cheering was ridiculously loud as everyone stood cheering for the winner. Millie seemed just as amazed as everyone else was. She turned and walked falteringly back to her bench, every step seemed exhausting as the battle weighed down on her. Finally about ten paces away from her team she began to sway, suddenly the ground seemed to be coming towards her and for some reason she could feel the air rushing by her.

Was she falling?

* * *

Ok so I slipped out of story mode for a moment there, sorry!! I just started writing it and then I knew it was silly but I decided to leave it in!!

Still not a bad chapter, there isn't much left to this story now, if we all live to see the end of it. Sorry I'm getting morbid here but if they destroy the world with that LHC device I'm gonna be so mad LOL!!

Please R&R


	43. Semi finals: part 2

Thanks so so so much for the reviews, I keep meaning to respond to them but things are a bit crazy right now.

People seem surprised that Kai lost but everyone has to lose sometime, and he lost to a girl!! Oh yeah!

Sorry having a slightly weird moment here! Anyway I'm personally looking forward to seeing how Kai reacts, also if you had a shock in the last chapter brace yourself for this one.

There's some KaiHil here but don't worry it doesn't get too steamy, it's mostly fluffy stuff! I will in future warn you of anything like that!

Kendall's beyblade is Odin named after the Norse god connected with war and battle, I don't know if this name has ever been used before but I was reading Norse mythology before I wrote this chapter so I decided to use it.

I also apologise for any bad speling lol!

Again we have more beyblading than bad guys in this one

I do not own Beyblade.

* * *

Max felt increasingly nervous as he sat in the first aid post, Millie had been unconscious for over an hour now and although the doctors declared her to be in no danger he wasn't going to stop feeling worried until she woke up. Not only was he worried about his girlfriend though he was also feeling nervous about sitting with her four cousins. Tia was alright, she seemed to be ok with the two of them dating but the three male cousins, Millie's team mates kept shooting him slightly angry looks. Every time Max caught one of them giving him a glare he was tempted to glare defiantly back but he didn't really want to become enemies with Millie's cousins (plus he was way to nice!) so he would avert his gaze back to the bed where Millie lay.

Finally there was some signs of movement from the bed, everyone crept forward hopefully. The cousins and Max watched as Millie moaned a little in her sleep, she shifted slightly and then slowly her eyes fluttered open.

For a split second she felt incredibly dazed, her vision was a little blurry but then her eyes adjusted to the light and she was able to make out the large blonde haircut that she recognised as Max's. She grinned at the - as yet blurry - figure waiting for his smile, his eyes, and the rest of his features to became clearer.

"How you feeling Millie?"

Millie turned to the left and focussed on the figures on the other side of the bed.

"Jerome?" she whispered, she was finding talking a little difficult

"Yeah, we're all here. How you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a bus!" Millie tried to sit up but found it impossible, she was ridiculously dizzy! Giving up on sitting up she settled herself comfortably amongst her pillows and closed her eyes again. "What happened?" she asked

"You don't remember?" Tia asked sounding concerned

"I remember battling but….hey did I beat Kai?" Millie's eyes shot open again and she grinned "I did! Didn't I?"

"You sure did!" Max nodded happily "You should have seen his face, it was classic! And Tyson actually fainted in shock!"

"I got the whole thing on tape" Tia promised "and that match has gone crazy on youtube. Everyone loves it!"

"Of course it's lucky Kai noticed you stumbling and ran to catch you before you kissed the floor" Max added "you almost went face down."

"Kai caught me?" Millie asked confused "but I was ages away from him!"

"He was on his way round to shake your hand, he's good like that" Max explained "when he noticed you looked like you were about to collapse, he sprinted around the dish and caught you before anyone else had time to move"

"That was sweet of him" Millie admitted blushing at the idea of fainting in front of huge crowds , she was relieved she hadn't 'kissed the floor' as Max put it "Now I get why Hilary says he's her very own superhero on speed dial!"

"One of us would have caught you" muttered one of Millie's other cousins

"Yeah right" Tia snapped back "you guys didn't even move till you saw Kai actually catch her"

"Hey! We..."

"Stop arguing, please!" Millie muttered as she closed her eyes again "I'm really not in the mood"

--

Completely still Kai sat in his suite, he was sitting in the corner looking desolate, after he had carried Millie from the arena and into the nearest first aid point he had come here and sunk into his current position, left leg drawn up to his chest, he rested his left elbow on his left knee with his hand clenched into a fist. His right leg was tucked under the left one and his right arm just hung uselessly by his side. His head rested in his clenched fist and he made no response to anything that happened around him. Tala was pretty sure a bomb could explode and throw Kai from the building but he would still stay in that position

"Kai?" the bluenette made no movement as his team mates tried to get his attention, Tala looked at the others shrugging.

Spencer grabbed his arm "Come on man it was one hell of a match, and we're still through to the final!"

"Yeah, you can prove yourself in the final!" Bryan agreed

"I can't believe you're sulking" Ian argued, "we've been ill, we weren't at our peak and….well Millie's one hell of a blader, I trained with her once and she sent me flying….What? She did!" he got defensive as the others in the room looked at him smirking

Still Kai said and did nothing, his team moved away from him to the other side of the room,

"What do we do?" Spencer asked "I've never seen him like this before"

Tala shrugged and looked over at his friend, a thought occurred to him and he turned back to the group "hey are we going out tonight?"

"I don't know" Spencer shrugged, "isn't Hilary coming here soon?"

"Yeah, that's why I asked" Tala nodded "if there is one person who can get through to Kai it's her."

"Then we better go out" Spencer agreed with a grin "I'd hate to ruin Kai's healing process"

"You just want to enjoy our win" Tala smirked at him "well we might as well but remember guys Hilary's actually in our suite tonight so we have to be on best behaviour!!"

--

"Hello?" Hilary looked around curiously, as she had arrived Tala and the others had emerged from the room dressed to kill and after saying they'd see her later, they had then run down the hallway. She could only assume that they were going out and Kai was still in the room.

"Kai are you in here? Come on this isn't funny! I mean it I'm in mood f…." she started to feel a little annoyed but then she noticed him. He was sitting in the corner, she had no idea how long he'd been like that but she could guess that it was for a while.

"Oh Kai" she went over and knelt in front of him "you can't be taking this so much to heart."

He didn't look up so she reached forward and took his right hand, still he didn't move, she kissed the back of his hand. Slowly moving up his arm she reached his shoulder and continuing up she began to nibble at his neck.

Groaning Kai rolled his head to the side, she continued her assault on his skin moving up to latch onto his earlobe. He felt himself begin to move out of his sitting position and start to pull her closer, finally giving in he pulled away from her and looked at her properly. She was smiling in a smug way

"Feeling better?" she asked cheekily

"Shut up" he muttered huskily and he kissed her. "Hilary" Kai whispered as he let his lips leave hers

"Yes?"

"I..., I really" he muttered, Hilary grinned he was trying to say it again,

"I know" Hilary told him "I love you too"

This statement made Kai smile wider than Hilary had ever seen him smile before, he didn't have to say it, she knew how he felt and when he was finally able to say how he felt he would. She could wait, after all they had all the time in the world.

--

When Tala and the others returned home the first thing they did was look at where Kai had previously been sitting. Sighing with relief they noticed that the space was now empty.

"Looks like Hilary's here"

"So where's Kai sleeping?" Spencer mused looking around, he had expected Kai to take up residence on the couch with Hilary in his room.

"Oh come on Spence," Brian moaned "even I'm not that stupid"

"What?"

"Dumbass" Tala muttered, the other three all stared at Spencer before turning to look pointedly at Kai's room, in the silence they could hear the murmur of voices.

"Oh" finally the penny dropped and Spencer nodded "riiiight!"

--

The couple inside the room were sitting together on the bed, Kai was resting against the headboard while Hilary rested in his lap "You know I kind of like being talked out of my mood this way" Kai smiled gently down at Hilary running his hand up and down her back making her smile.

"Certainly beats yelling till my throat hurts and trying to come up with a new way of saying 'you can do this' without being cliché" Hilary giggled and snuggled closer to him

"You think those speeches up beforehand?"

"No, but I do think about what I'm saying as I say it, I don't want to say the wrong thing."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but I know that some stuff in your life is a touchy subject" Hilary shrugged "I don't know much about it and I always wanted to know but knew it wasn't right to ask."

"You can ask me anything."

"No" Hilary shook her head before resting it on his shoulder "It's ok!"

"You don't want to know anymore?"

"Not really, not now I know that while I was thinking my grandfather was the most kind and wonderful grandfather in the world he was hurting you. As far as he was concerned I was a happy, slightly spoilt grandchild and you were….nothing" Hilary shuddered a little and Kai held her closer "I hate that thought."

"You can't be taking this so much to heart" Kai teased smirking at her

"Oh shut up!!" she whispered whacking him on the arm, that smirk annoyed her, she wanted to teach him a lesson. But before she could do anything he kissed her, still maybe she could teach him a lesson anyway.

Suddenly Kai gasped in pain as Hilary nipped hard on his lower lip. Kai could feel her giggle at his shock and decided that she needed to be taught a lesson for this little attempt at authority. Moving his hands down he hooked them behind her knees and lifted her up. Immediately Hilary was thrown off balance and she clung to his shoulders tightly to stop herself from falling, Kai used this to his advantage and forced her down onto the bed again "You really like being punished don't you?" he gently nuzzled her neck as he whispered to her

"Depends on the punishments" she gasped as he nipped at her shoulder "and the punishers of course"

"Punishers?" Kai pulled back and glared at her his eyes filled with annoyance "How many punishers do you have exactly?"

Hilary loved the pink tinge his skin had taken and the slightly jealous look in his eyes she gave into temptation retorting "Only one….for now"

Kai lowered his body down onto hers and placed his face beside hers his lips were almost touching her ear "Wrong answer!" he hissed

"How so?" she whispered back with pseudo innocence "you **are **the only one…**for now**"

"I am the only one **ever**" Kai told her firmly, she pretended to look surprised at his anger

"Oh really?" she teased again "Are you sure about that?"

"Say it!" He ordered her but she shook her head teasingly "SAY IT!" he sounded a little upset so Hilary gave in.

"You are the only one **ever**" the brunette declared smiling at the grin this received from Kai

"Damn right I am" Kai happily crushed his lips onto hers with such a force she was sure they were bruised.

--

Tyson sighed, how the hell had they gotten to this position? Normally in these games he was quietly confident and ready to win, it was never until the final round when he was up against Kai that he began to have any serious doubts about winning but here he was up against Kendall and everything rested on this game.

It was a tiebreaker but that wasn't what was bothering him, after all he'd won these before it was the way that Kendall barely seemed affected by their previous games. In fact he'd barely even broken out a sweat while Tyson felt as though he'd been put through the wringer.

Tyson sighed as he looked down at Dragoon, how could he do this when he was so low on energy. As he looked up he saw Kendall's evil smirk and it angered him, he really hated that guy right now.

As he looked across the dish Tyson thought of how they had found Hilary, of how afraid and broken she had looked as she sat under the showers.

Clutching his launcher in one hand and his beyblade in the other Tyson stood ready to win.

Watching his opponents face carefully Kendall could almost hear the thoughts going through Tyson's head. He could guess that Tyson knew what had happened between himself and Hilary and he could guess that for Tyson vengeance was the dish of the day!

Oh well, Kendall gave a smug smile, Tyson would just have to deal with failure.

"3-2-1 Let it rip!"

Watching from the stands Tyson's friends all crossed their fingers praying that their friend would be able to win. A lot of the watchers had their own reasons for wanting the win, Hilary in particular was hoping for Kendall to be humiliated. Of course Kai on the other hand was hoping to battle Tyson in the final.

The two bladers launched their beyblades in their own distinctive style but it was obvious to the spectators that Tyson's launch was not as powerful as usual. Still things began to look up as Tyson staring at the smug Kendall began to get angrier, slowly but surely Dragoon began picking up speed. There were cheers from the crowd, team Thunderbolt were not exactly popular with the fans and Tyson's friends weren't the only ones who wanted him to win.

Dragoon and Odin clashed together, sparks flew as they ground away at each pther. Tyson was getting more and more breathless the longer the battle continued, somehow the actions in the dish were draining his energy more than usual. Something Kendall was doing was tiring him out.

Looking at his opponent Tyson was surprised by how full of energy Kendall looked, it was almost as though he hadn't been playing at all. How was this possible?

Watching from the stands Hilary turned to question Kai "how can Tyson be in such bad shape? Kendall looks fine."

"I don't know" Kai admitted "I can't tell without the proper data. Kenny's probably analysing it, he'll have a better idea."

"But Tyson can't keep up with this" Hilary agonised as they looked down on their friend

"He can make it" Kai muttered "he always makes it."

Finally falling to his knees Tyson coughed, he had been battling so hard that his throat was dry, how was it that he had gotten this tired. He felt….old!

Looking down at the dish he cold see that Dragoon was faltering, moving listlessly around and confirming his fear that neither of them were going to make it.

Seeming more and more smug with every second that passed Kendall wasn't even bothering to command his beyblade as it ambled around. Finally with an unbothered shrug Kendall gave a command and his black and blue beyblade knocked Tyson from the dish.

There was silence

No one couls quite believe what had happened in front of them, how had Tyson been so easily beatren?

"**Kendall wins!" **DJ Jazzman called out but even he seemed confused by the result

"NO!"

The yell came from the crowds but surprisingly it wasn't from any of Tysons friends, it was one of the fans. Soon another person had jumped up yelling their disareement. Then another jumped to their feet, soon the entire stadium was filled with spectators arguing the resulkt. Hilary grinned as she watched the crowds, it was obvious that though Tyson had in a way let everyone down he was still the favourite

Tyson looked around shocked, why was everyone still on his side, he'd just lost hadn't he?

"Cheat!!" someone yelled

"Yeah Cheat!" another voice joined in

"Did he cheat?" Hilary asked Kai sounding hopeful

"If he did I missed it" Kai looked over at Tala who shook his head

"I think that was won fair and square." Tala muttered looking very grim

Standing looking dejected in the stadium Tyson stared across at his opponent, Kendall had walked back to his bench and was totally ignoring the yells from the crowd. Tyson shook his head, as much as he would love to believe that Kendall was a cheat he couldn't. It was completely against everything Tyson had come to believe in to take credit where it wasn't due. Turning he walked back to his bench and smiled at the sympathetic looks he received from his team.

"Had to lose sometime I guess" he tried to shrug it off but really he felt like crying.

"He didn't cheat as far as I can see" Kenny told him.

"No" Tyson shook his head and looked back at the team behind him, "but I'd love to know what he did out there."

--

Arms crossed and eyes closed (Kai style) Kendall sat seemingly oblivious to his surroundings for quite sometime, it wasn't until the angry voice of Lando his captain became to lloud to bear that he finally responded

"What?" Kendall snapped

"We were supposed to be saving that manouvre for the finals" Lando almost yelled "what if in the final we need to use that to win?"

"It'll still work, we've had people try many times to fight that move, it never works."

"How do you know?" Lando snapped "I don't believe you would be so foolish as to just use that move whenever you felt like it"

"I needed it" Kendall snapped "I didn't use it for fun" he looked over at Tyson and gritted his teeth "That guy is strong, stronger than I've ever faced before."

"You needed it?" his other team mates looked over at Tyson with respect, it wasn't often that Kendall had to resort to desperate measures to win but it would appear that the blade breaker had really pushed him!

"It means nothing!" Kendal growled "I'm still the strongest one here and we will win."

"We better" Lando hissed "if we don't win the finals you and I are in trouble!"

--

As Hilary left the blade breakers suite she was feeling more tired than she had ever felt before, after his defeat Tyson had shut himself in his room and hadn't come out. At dinner time Kenny had gotten desperate and had called Hilary. Of course as usual she had dropped everything and come to help.

After two hours of sitting outside Tyson's door she had finally coaxed him out of his room, together with the old blade breaker team they went for pizzza, there had been a lot of paparazzi but Tyson had coped well with it. There had also been some sympathetic fans who came up to declare that 'the best man didn't win this time' which certainly cheered Tyson up. If there was one thing Tyson loved it was having his ego stroked.

Unfortunately for them all the evening hadn't been totally successful and there had been a few comments involving the insults 'loser' and 'washed up'. This had sent Tyson into a worse mood and after they had returned to the hotel Hilary had walked up to the Blade Breakers suite and spent another hour or so just talking with her friend.

Luckily for her outside there was a rather nice surprise for her, Kai stood outside the door. He was leaning against the wall just staring at the floor as the door closed behind Hilary he looked up and pushing himself off the wall he held out a hand.

Smiling Hilary took the proffered hand and silently the two of them walked down the corridor, in the elevator Kai sent Hilary a questioning glance

"He'll be Ok, he just wants you to beat that asshole Kendall" Hilary answered the unspoken enquiry, leaning into her boyfriend she yawned sleepily. As the lift doors opened up Kai slipped his arm around her shoulder and led the exhausted girl to her destination

--

Kai had awoken in the morning to discover himself alone in his bed… it had ruined his morning. He and everyone else were all travelling back to Japan today and Hilary had obviously snuck out early in order to make sure everything went smoothly.

Yawning he wondered how many people actually knew about their secret, Mariah and Ray? Definitely, Hilary's friends? Probably if what Tala said was true and they told each other everything. Smiling he wondered what Hilary had told them, was it true as Miguel had said? Did they really talk about 'Technique, looks, how you treat them, stamina, girth'?

Well his team certainly knew, either that or there was another reason why no comment had been about where he had slept the past two nights. No, they knew alright, the first morning Ian had been checking Hilary out as eating cereal she sat on the couch in her pyjamas (god she looked hot in those!) he had suddenly looked away and glanced at Kai. After a few seconds of an angry death glare Ian knew not to stare at Kai's girl in future.

Personally Kai didn't care who knew, he was ready to tell everyone, in fact in just a few of days he would tell everyone. He had allowed Hilary to keep it a secret for a little while but he was still annoyed that he could see guys around her staring, sometimes she even got chatted up. If they all knew that she was taken, and who had claimed her they'd all back off in a flash.

Oh well he and his team had agreed that after they had settled in they would go train with Tyson at the Dojo and Hilary was bound to be there.

--

Hilary was being extraordinary careful as she organised the different flights the teams would go on. It was important that the Blitzkrieg Boys and Team Thunderbolt went on the same flight so no one could claim that there was any favouritism. Of course she knew that it was even more vital that she ensure these two teams sat nowhere near each other. She had never experienced a fistfight on a plane in high altitude and she had no wish to either!

It was also important to arrange flights home for any one that needed it and flights to Japan for anyone that was planning on being part of the display that was to be held before the final battle.

Most of the White Tiger team were coming and so were the PPB All Starz and Team Reformation. Hilary had a sneaking suspicion that Millie had only agreed to be part of the display because she knew Max would be in it and vice versa. If that weren't the case both of the little blonde's that made up the cute couple would be heading back to the USA for sure.

Then she needed to make a few changes to the accommodation, Ray was hoping that he and Mariah would be able to stay in their rooms for longer than the tournament so they could get some house hunting done. Lee was willing to crash at the Dojo but they had agreed that a hotel would have some extra protection from the hordes of paparazzi likely to descend when they discovered Mariah's 'condition'!

It had been planned that Hilary would go home but given the danger that seemed to wait around every corner these days she had agreed to stay at the hotel, Tia was heading for the Dojo but Kai had determined that the hotel would be safer.

Safer!

Yeah right! She snorted a little thinking about how he had said this, the look in his eyes showed that his request definitely had nothing to do with her safety. Still it was nice to think that he hadn't got bored of her yet, she was rather anxious that he would grow tired of her but... well if he did she'd kick his ass to say nothing of how Ray and the others would react..

Strangely enough not even Ray had noticed Kai's expression, maybe she only noticed the look because she was the only one who had seen it before.

* * *

A few notes

Ok I haven't even started the next chapter so please, please, please be patient with me, I am a student and it is September.

As for having Kai lose to a girl in the last chapter part of the reason for that is I wanted to explore how his and Hilary's relationship had now changed, in the 2nd chapter we see her talking to him but now they are dating things are different to say the least! Plus I wanted him to lose to a girl, especially a seemingly timid and shy girl like Millie.

Also Shock, shock horror, horror! Tyson lost ok? He lost, I am not going to change this for anything.

Please R&R


	44. The finals: part 1

Sorry but I'm writing a couple of other fics at the moment. I've been planning a Naruto fic for ages now, I've liked writing some fighting scenes so I really want to try my hand at a few ninja fighting scenes.

The other fic is a request (yes someone actually wrote to me and requested a story yay!) so I feel I must do it…oh who am I kidding, I love the idea and have already started deciding the chapter order! The first chapter should be up next week!

Anyway…..I do not own Beyblade or Secret Smile by Semisonic

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Still coping with his defeat Tyson had been thrilled to be back home, unfortunately his grandfather had met them at the airport and his cries of 'never mind little dude' and 'you'll do better next time' rang out loudly. It made Tyson feel even more embarrassed than usual but Hilary who had arrived on an earlier flight was waiting for them too and she gave Tyson a friendly hug that made him feel a little better.

"Hi Ty" Hilary whispered

"Hey Hils! Hey are you coming with us to the BBA to train?"

"First of all Tyson I don't play and Second of all aren't the Blitzkrieg Boys supposed to be meeting you at the Dojo later?"

"Oh yeah" Tyson rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed way "I forgot about that but… welllll the BBA are offering us an all you can eat buffet!"

"Someone was stupid enough to offer **you **Tyson Granger an all you can eat Buffet?" Hilary rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone "I'll call Kai!"

"You're the best!" Tyson told her

"I know" Hilary rolled her eyes, she listened to the answer phone message then she began to talk "Hi Kai, I'm just calling to tell you that Tyson's changed the venue for today's training." Grinning she decided to tease Tyson a little "I know I know he's annoying, and actually the only reason he's changed it is so he can get free food. Anyway we're gonna be at the BBA so if you could meet us there that'd be great! Bye." Hilary turned away from her friends and whispered "Love you!"

"I heard that" Mariah whispered coming up behind Hilary and making her jump.

"Don't do that!" Hilary hissed feeling embarrassed and trying to ignore her friends mocking laugh.

They all regrouped at the BBA building, The Blitzkrieg Boys, The Blade Breakers, Hilary, Tia, Max, Millie, Ray, Lee and Mariah all gathered together.

Kai had got Hilary's message and the Blitzkrieg Boys had arrived at the designated meeting place at the same time as everyone else. Almost everyone began training, Hilary and Tia disappeared off quickly to get some work done but the others were there to get the Blitzkrieg boys ready, to train them until they were ready to beat team Thunderbolt.

Kenny looked as if his eyes hadn't left his laptop screen in hours, Millie sat down next to him and looked over at the screen.

"Is that Tyson's battle against Kendall?" she asked interested

"Yeah, I'm trying to work out how Kendall could drain Tyson like he did, he put up almost no fight during that last battle"

"Can I see?" Millie held out her hands and Kenny passed over the laptop, Millie stared intently at the clip for a few minutes. She then tried to enhance the pictures but it made no difference annoyingly she couldn't see why Tyson had been defeated so easily

"Anything?" Kenny asked

"Nothing…wait" Millie looked closer at that screen "look at that"

"What?"

It was odd, Millie wasn't looking at any of the battle shots but at a bit before the final games when Tyson and Kendall stood side by side.

"Watch"

They watched as Kendall knelt in front of the dish as though checking it, as he did this something else seemed to happen, he reached into a back pocket and looking like he was polishing his beyblade he did something else. After Millie had played the clip and Kenny gasped, "No fucking way!" Angry Kenny jumped up almost dropping his precious laptop

"Kenny?" the rest of the group looked at the bespectacled boy in shock

"Give me Dragoon" Kenny demanded as he marched forward holding out his hand

Surprised but trusting Tyson handed over his beyblade, "Just be careful with him"

Kenny grabbed the beyblade and immediately threw it down in the floor

"I said 'be careful' but I can understand how you could interpret that as 'destroy my beyblade please' Kenny what the hell?" Tyson yelled indignantly

Together Millie and Kenny both grabbed the pieces of the beyblade and studied them carefully

"This was damaged with something stronger than the usual attack ring!" Kenny yelled getting angrier and angrier by the second

"What?" Tyson looked at the pieces and didn't understand "What do you mean Chief?"

"Look at this" Kenny held the bit chip and other pieces out to Tyson who grabbed them and gasped

"This isn't right" he sounded broken hearted, "how could I not have noticed?"

"I don't understand" Tala moved forward and held a hand out "can I see?"

Tyson handed over his defence ring and Tala looked at it carefully

"What's wrong?" asked Mariah curiously not able to see the beyblade herself

"The damage on Tyson's Beyblade seems to show that something on Kendall's beyblade was not matching the regulations. That's why he played so badly" Kenny explained "this different ring threw him off on almost every attack he made, Tyson couldn't judge it properly, it also disturbed the spin gears. They made the alterations after the final checks from the BBA officials"

"If you look here" Millie pointed out on the laptop "you can see Kendall make a change to his beyblade..."

"Its after they did that, that his game became slightly better!" Kenny finished for her

"And mine got worse" Tyson groaned

"Is there no way that its just a new metal or something?" Lee asked looking at the damaged beyblade

"No" Kenny shook his head "those ridged markings along the edge there could only be made by a non regulation beyblade!"

"That's cheating!" Mariah exclaimed

'No duh!' Kai thought to himself as he watched the scene before him

"We have to report this" Kenny exclaimed

"Oh yeah" Millie nodded agreement "who knows how many times they've done this before?" Everyone seemed to be nodding agreement, the general consensus was that Mr Dickenson and the BBA officials needed to be told.

"We can't tell anyone" Tyson declared, "look guys do you want to go right back to the beginning again? Don't you all remember what we decided when we discovered Barthez Batallion were cheating"

"Barthez Battalion cheated?" Millie looked surprised

"It's a long story sweetie" Max told her pecking her lightly on the cheek "I'll tell you later"

"Ok" Millie nodded blushing "so what did you decide?"

"We decided that we would fight it out" Tyson told her "that we would beat them whatever dirty tricks they decided to play. And we'll do it again this time. You better beat him Kai" Tyson looked over at Kai and though he received no actual response from his friend he knew Kai was determined to win.

"But Tyson, this means that your loss…." Millie complained but she was silenced by a look from the Blade Breaker. They all nodded understandingly, Tyson was willing to let his loss go so that Kai would have a shot at beating Kendall. After all they all wanted to see Kendall humiliated

"So this doesn't ;eave this room" Tyson commanded

"Well surely we can tell Tia and Hil..." Mariah began but found herslf silenced by a cold interruption

"No one can tell Hilary" Kai commanded coldly "if she finds out she will tell Mr Dickenson for sure!"

"But Kai" Mariah protested "she needs to know"

"No" Kai shook his head "Tyson's right, if we report them now we're going to have to go back to the beginning. Hilary would insist on telling Mr D and besides it would be better if she wasn't burdened with this right now. What do you think guys?" he turned to look at his team mates.

The Blitzkrieg Boys spent a few moments exchanging glances, finally they nodded in agreement. They knew what they wanted to do

"We keep it quiet, we fight" Tala nodded "We make Kendall pay for all he's done"

The others nodded in agreement

"But to do that" Spencer told them "we need to be better than ever before. You guys all train us with us, and don't you dare hold anything back"

"I'm with Millie" Kai smirked at the blonde "I want a rematch"

"If you think you can handle it" Millie disentangled herself from Max's arms and then pulled out her beyblade "But somehow I doubt you can manage it"

Kenny tapped away at his laptop before looking up at Tala who was up next against Team Thunderbolt. Spencer had played a game managing to draw against Bavin. The two of them had left the arena looking pleased. Bavin was not a fan of cheating and was thrilled he hadn't had too but Spencer was happy because he knew that a draw was their best bet.

They had decided that if the first match ended in a draw then the opposing team would only be likely to use their illegal designs if they felt pushed into a corner. It had annoyed Spencer to e told to pull back but as it was he and Bavin had been on the same level and if he was honest a draw was actually the best he could manage.

"Give me good news chief" he muttered as he looked over at Lando who stood to face him

"I can't tell you much" Kenny muttered, "all I can really say is that they aren't likely to use the non regulation beyblade when they really need it"

"So it's a last resort?" Tala questioned "They aren't likely to use it until the end?"

"I can't tell exactly but…" Kenny looked over at Kai "they are more likely to use it in the deciding battle, most likely at the end"

"When Kai's facing Kendall?" Tala asked

"Worry about me when I'm up" Kai commanded not even looking at them "Just get up there Tala!"

Nodding Tala made his way up to the dish, looking across at the team that had tried to do so much damage he clenched his teeth gritting them angrily.

"3...2.…1 LET IT RIP"

Both beyblades hurtled through the air landing in the dish at the same time and circling each other warily each waiting for the opportunity to pounce. It was Lando who made the first move, he seemed to want the battle over and done with quickly as Lando immediately began to grind his beyblade against Wolborg. Tala seeing this immediately began to move around evasively, he didn't want to exhaust either himself or his beyblade before they had a chance to settle into the game.

Moving carefully weaving around the dish Tala was surprised, Lando seemed to be expecting this as he followed at a slower pace. Looking across at his opponent Tala felt angry, Lando stood smirking but it was the figure behind him that angered Tala the most. Kendall stood watching intently but it wasn't the game that his eyes were fixed on it was the brunette standing by Mr Dickenson.

Hilary was looking determinedly at the table in front of her employer but whenever she looked up she would see Kendall's eyes on her and look upset.

God Tala wanted to smash his face in, he would take Kendall by the neck and…..

"GET YOUR HEAD IN THE FUCKING GAME TALA!" The yell came from close to Hilary but it also came just in time. In his anger Tala had allowed his attention to stray from the matter at hand and as he looked back down he could see that Wolborg was wavering as Lando's beyblade went heading for him

"Evade!" Tala yelled feeling relieved as his precious beyblade moved away from the oncoming attack. There was a moment where the beyblade faltered a little but soon it was back on an even keel spinning and picking up speed!

"Not bad" Lando commented "your lucky blondie got your eyes back in your head"

'Blondie?' Tala wondered then he realised where he had recognised that voice before 'Tia' he muttered to himself 'damn now I owe her one!'

The crowds were cheering loudly fro Tala, many had not yet gotten over Tyson's loss and Team Thunderbolt was rapidly becoming one of the most hated teams in the entire beyblade world. There were many times when Tala's beyblade scraped along the bottom of the dish, to the watching crowds it looked like he was about to be beaten but every time with grim determination he managed to pick up the speed getting Wolborg to lift up his edges and fight as hard as possible. The crowds cheers were certainly helping him but he needed to get his act together and concentrate on what was in front of him not around him.

'Fine' Tala thought to himself, 'we need a win right now….we're gonna get it'

"OK WOLBORG, LETS COOL THEM DOWN"

Immediately the temperature in the arena dropped and a cold wind swept up, Tala's hair whipped across his face he smiled a little manically as he started to spin faster and faster around Lando's blade. It was a move he hadn't used in a long time and he wasn't sure if he could even do it now that the cybernites had left his system but it was worth a try.

"Freeze them" Tala whispered and the cold air centred around Lando's beyblade forming an ice block around the beyblade

"CUT THROUGH IT" Lando yelled trying desperately to spin faster in and attempt to cut through the ice and counter the formidable attack

There was a last whoosh of cold air and then there it was in the centre of the beydish, it looked like an ice sculpture, it's tiny size was nowhere near as impressive as the first one Tala had ever created but it had done its job a hell of a lot better. Lando's blade was stuck, frozen still in the ice. There was a cracking sound as the ice broke in to and Lando's blade split down the middle ended up with the two halves of the beyblade inside the two individual halves of the ice.

"**TALA WINS!**"

The cheering was deafening as people jumped onto their seats screaming their appreciation for what Tala had done. Wolborg returned to Talas hand ice cold but Tala clutched it tight ignoring the almost burning cold. 'Good job'

Tala walked over to the bench as calmly as possible, he was exhilarated but he knew not to show it, that wasn't the Blitzkrieg Boys way. As he arrived beside his team Tala noticed that Kai's line of vision was very similar to what his own had been when he had gotten distracted. Kai was watching the opposite team angrily, what was it with Kendall? Why wouldn't that guy just stop smirking like that?

"You alright Kai?" Tala looked at his friend a little worried he had been out all night and now he looked as though he was ready to murder someone.

"**FINE**!" Kai hissed, Tala smiled

"When you say **fine **like it's a curse word it means your not **fine**! Come on Kai if your angry you'll lose control" Kai looked at Tala and realised that he was right. He needed to keep his anger in check until he got up to the dish and then he would let Kendall have it, all of it.

Looking back up at where the officials sat he noticed that Hilary and Tia had left their seats, panicking slightly he looked around. He couldn't see them anywhere, had Kendall arranged something….? Was that why he was smirking?

"Looking for something?" a very welcome and familiar voice asked

"Hilary!" relieved Kai turned and smiled "For a moment there you had me worried" he wanted to hug her but managed to contain himself

It seemed that Hilary and Tia both found his statement funny for some reason, they laughed

"Just keep your head in the game" Tia said with a smirk as she glanced at Tala

"Thanks for that" Tala nodded to her "I owe you"

"I'll make sure to collect"

"You be careful Kai" Hilary told him fear lacing her voice "Just don't hurt yourself!"

"I make no promises" Kai gave her a smirk as he raised his eyebrows in a mocking way

"And please...Just be careful of his non regulation beyblade" Hilary whispered grinning as Kai stared at her, he probably couldn't have been more surprised if she had grown an extra head "show that idiot what you've got" she told him nodding at Kendall. Grinning and only just resisting the urge to grab Hilary and kiss her senseless Kai turned back to the dish.

Slowly but steadily Kai walked towards the dish where Kendall stood already waiting. The two opponents gave each other looks that made the ice attack Tala had just used seem as hot as the desert sun.

The animosity that the two of them obviously had could be felt and the cheers for Kai started before the countdown had even begun.

"3...2...1 Let It Rip"

Kai seemed to launched his beyblade a little before Kendall but both blades hit the dish at exactly the same time. As Kendall's hit the dish first it seemed to dig into the surface of the dish before it gained speed.

The audience were thrilled that Kai's beyblade had been launched with his usual launch stance and the power was evident it smashed down into the dish but somehow despite the force with which it was launched and landed it didn't even scratch the surface as it immediately began to circle the dish. Dranzer seemed to float as it moved around causing the dust Kendall had created to fly up.

As soon as Kendal got a steady spin going he was all over his opponent, his attacks seemed clumsily at first but Kai soon realised that Kendall had already fitted out his beyblade with its non regulation attack ring. The clumsy attacks were probably calculated hits designed to damage a beyblade where it would be worst hit.

Kai needed to create some distance between himself and Kendall, fast!

He was hit repetitively, he felt as though his whole body was being pounded from one side to the other. Kendall was ensuring that he and Dranzer were never being given even the slightest chance to move away. Finally he gave Dranzer a silent command and as soon as the beyblade was about to be hit Dranzer dipped down to one side and as it was hit flipped up and into the air.

There were shouts of shock and annoyance for the crowd but Kai merely smirked as he yelled a command throwing his hands out.

Dranzer landed on the opposite side of the dish from Kendall and after landing safely began to zigzag gracefully across the dish avoiding any attacks headed his way. Kendall looked at Kai and immediately knew that he was in trouble, the grey eyes that stared at him with stony coldness grew angrier.

Kai's mind went back to what has happened in Russia

His memories went back to when he had walked into that changing room and saw Hilary small and afraid huddled in the stalls, she hadn't even seemed to notice the shower above her was on and water fell down on her. Her brown hair had been plastered to her face and her whole body was noticeably trembling.

Kai's anger grew as he remembered the way she had flinched at his touch,

The cold grey sparked darker with anger

"Is Kai Ok out there?" Tyson asked as he jumped down from his seat behind the Blitzkrieg Boys bench and stood beside Tala "He looks angry"

"Kai's always angry" Tala joked trying to lighten the atmosphere but it didn't do any good he could actually feel Hilary tensing up next to him

"No" Hilary shook her head "he's really angry"

"Yeah but you know Kai, everything's ok while he's still wearing his scarf, as long as he's got that o….oh shit" Tala watched as Kai yanked his scarf from his neck and threw it beside him onto the floor

"Now we're for it" Tyson muttered

"Have security prepare the evacuation plan" Mr Dickenson murmured to the person next to him, there was a quick nod and the person ran off. "And to think I thought with it not being Kai and Tyson I would get to keep my beautiful stadium"

Mr Dickenson sadly shook his head and held onto his seat as the stadium around him felt like it was rumbling

As Kai got angrier and angrier at the person opposite him he lifted his hand to his neck and before he realised what he was doing he had pulled the scarf form his neck and threw it to the floor. Gathering up his energy he hissed commands to Dranzer and watched with amusement as the beyblade began to move faster and faster around the dish causing a rumbling sensation to sound throughout the stadium.

Shouting out desperate commands Kendall watched as Odin was hit in such a way that it almost stopped spinning, Kai was beginning to get faster and stronger, it seemed almost unbelievable.

"Odin Whirling attack" Kendall yelled weakly was it him or was the air getting dry?

"Dranzer fires of the desert" immediately the wind picked up again but now instead of cold air and ice the arena started to head up and the dust and sand began to gather in the dish. The rumbling continued, it was the strangest sensation almost like being in an earthquake and yet somehow safer, the rumbling and shaking continued as Dranzer gathered speed and momentum drawing in the dust dirt and sand in the arena causing a huge cloud of dust to form. There was a bang almost like an explosion but which was in reality the two beyblades hitting each other but the dust was causing this impossible to view.

There was a sound from within the dust cloud it sounded like a beyblade grinding against another and suddenly another almighty bang and then silence. If you were an experienced beyblade or had attended one to many games you could tell that only one beyblade was still spinning in the dish.

Suddenly both opponents dropped to their knees panting, it looked as they were both out for the count

The question was who was still spinning in that dust cloud?

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Hope this isn't too rushed!

Please R&R


	45. The finals: part 2

Sorry for the wait guys!

I do not own Beyblade

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No one seemed to notice that the rest of the old Blade Breaker team had joined Kenny, Hilary, Tia and the Blitzkrieg Boys at the bench, they had followed Tyson as he leapt down. No one was actually sure why Ray Tyson and Max had arrived at the teams side but it was almost as if they were willing Kai to win.

The entire stadium was silent as they waited to see who had won, you could have heard a pin drop.

The wind that started with the final attack was gone but the Dust was settling incredibly slowly and this added to everyone's agitation.

Not even Kai or Kendall seemed sure what had happened. At first they both knelt there waiting for the dust to clear but soon pushed themselves up to their feet trying to look through the dust and dirt to see which of them had won

Man this was dragging out! (heh heh heh)

And then they heard it!

A sharp clip from within the hidden beydish

It sounded as though the beyblade that was still moving was just as impatient as they were to announce who had won and had hit the opposing beyblade.

Suddenly through the dust they saw a small object hurtled out of the shadows

"**KAI WINS!!**" The announcer could barely be heard as everyone began to jump around excitedly applauding and screaming

"**The BLITZKRIEG BOYS WIN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!"**

--

Never before had Hilary felt so relieved! When she finally saw Kendall's beyblade fly from the dish she actually felt like crying! It was finally over and Kai was fine….or was he?

He just stood there completely still.

His beyblade spun to a stop and still he did nothing. Not even realising that she was doing it Hilary began to walk forward, then as he started to fall back she ran skidding to her knees and catching his head in her lap before it hit the ground.

"Kai! KAI!" she moved from under him placing his head gently on the floor and checking the pulse in his neck "Kai?" she leant over him her lips mere millimetres away from his

Around her the stadium had fallen into a state of quiet, the audience were not saying anything again, people were barely breathing as they silently prayed for the unconscious blader. Hilary's tears fell on his face as she looked down at him Behind her she heard a yell "Someone get a stretcher"

It was Tala, he was at her side but she didn't look up to acknowledge him she just stayed there staring down at the still figure on the floor.

"Please Kai" she whispered. The pulse was steady but still he didn't move "Come on, don't leave me all alon…..!"

Hilary was cut off as Kai's head jerked up and his lips hit hers, she was stunned and almost fell on top of him as his left hand weakly grabbed her arm. As she felt him deepen the kiss she could also feel his smirk, his stronger arm wound around her neck pulling her closer and holding her in place.

For a split second Kai thought Hilary was going to fight him off, she even placed her hands onto his chest ready to push him away but after a few seconds he felt her regain her balance and she seemed to give in melting into the kiss.

Vaguely Kai could make out the gasps and screams of shock as he continued to kiss his girlfriend, he could feel her pulling back and allowed her to move back onto her knees following her up so he was sitting he still managed to keep his lips locked on Hilary's and one hand on the back of her head pressing her ever closer.

--

Feeling awkward Tala moved back walking away from the couple and back to his team.

"Look at them go" the redhead commented grinning, over at the group that had gathered by the Blitzkrieg Boys bench .

"I'd rather not thanks" Ray turned away pointedly shaking his head

"You don't seem too surprised by this Ray" Tyson glared accusingly at his friend

"Yeah I kind of already knew"

"And you didn't tell us?" Tyson yelled.

"No, she asked me not too"

"You should have told us, this is Hilary we're talking about, we don't keep secrets like this!"

"So let me let this straight Tyson. You can take Hilary out on a date, snog her, and then lie about it but I can't keep a secret for a friend?" Ray argued glaring right back.

"Um... you know what? Never mind" Tyson looked at his feet

After he had got over the shock Max sent a sneaky look towards the Blitzkrieg Boys "Payday came early, hand it over" totally ignoring his arguing friends Max punched the air triumphantly before turning to Bryan Ian and Spencer, all three boys groaned and pulled out their wallets, they all grudgingly took out some money and handed it over "You too Mariah!" frowning Mariah followed suit handing over a couple of banknotes.

"I've known this day was coming for a while." Spencer muttered stuffing his now empty wallet back into his pocket.

"Me too, but Max how did you know they'd get together?" Mariah whined "this bet has been going before even they knew they liked each other"

"Are you kidding me?" Max asked "Of course I knew those two would end up together, it was inevitable" he started to count the money "Kai and Hilary have always loved each other they just didn't know it"

Millie who had just joined them grinned at her boyfriend "Max that's actually kind of sweet, but I'm not sure I like the gambling bit"

"Even if I use the money to take you out to dinner?" Max asked grinning at her

"Oh well it's fine then" Millie shrugged grinning back.

--

Still on the floor by the dish Kai and Hilary had finally broken apart, they were even now extremely close and they were breathing in a very similar way but their facial expressions were very different. She was glaring at him while he just looked vaguely amused, he was even (get the camera's) smiling!

"Kai" she looked around at the crowds and covered her red face with her hands "could you have picked a more public venue?" To their left a flash went off making her even more aware of the cameras in them that she already was!

"Hey we agreed as soon as the tournament was over we'd let people know about us" he pulled her hands down from her eyes and pecked her on the cheek "Tournaments over right?"

"Yes but I was thinking maybe we break it to our friends, or a few family members" Hilary looked around again and saw the flashes from cameras all over the place "I didn't mean tell the whole world."

"Oh! You should have been more specific" he actually knew how much this would be annoying her, she hated paparazzi and their first official public display of affection had just been seen around the world. But after so long hiding their relationship he was looking forward to having things on his own terms for a little while.

"I'm gonna kill you and it will be slow and painful!" She promised angrily

Kai pulled back and studied her carefully "Did you know you look kinda hot when you're annoyed?"

A little pleased by his compliment but still angry she refused to look in his eyes knowing that if she did her anger would disappear and she really wanted him to know she was an"You are so infuriating" Hilary pulled away from him completely and rose to her feet, holding out a hand she helped Kai to stand.

He rested an arm carelessly around her shoulders totally ignoring the crowds as they began to walk towards their friends "By the way who won? Was it me?"

"Kai?" Hilary stared up at him amazed "Yeah you won. How did you miss that?"

"Oh!" Kai seemed surprised "Well that's good, I thought I saw that but I was beginning to fade out before I saw properly"

"Kai? You have been waiting for ages for this moment and now it's here you don't even seem to care."

"I wanted to beat Tyson not that cheating scum bag" Kai looked back to where Kendall still stood with his team "beating him was easy"

"You passed out" Hilary countered but by now they had reached their friends and she was trying to keep her gaze on the floor

"No big deal" Kai told her putting a finger under her chin and lifting her head to look at him

"Oh for gods sake Kai!" In a way Hilary was actually glad they had started to argue for some reason it made it easier to face their friends. She turned to look at the group waiting for them "Hey guys!"

"Nice game" Tyson complimented

"Thanks" Kai nodded "but you owe me a one!" Tyson nodded happily, they still had that old score to settle. They hadn't really been up against each other this year so they still had to discover which of them was the best.

"Hey Hilary" Kenny gave Kai a glare "**Kai**"

Mariah and Mille exchanged glances before bursting into hysterical giggles.

--

At the team Thunderbolt bench Sanjeev and Bavin were upset by the final result but in all honesty they weren't too angry

Both Kendall and Lando looked like they had been hit by a ton of bricks,

"How could you lose?" Lando asked "you have the….thing right"

"What thing?" Sanjeev asked curiously

"Nothing" Lando muttered looking down, he and Kendall hadn't told the other two of their team members about their cheating habits.

"They must have noticed what happened to Tyson's beyblade"

"Damn it!" Lando kicked at the bench angrily "I told you to leave it till the last chance we had."

"You know what we have to do now" Kendall asked staring ay his captain

"Yeah, we just need to make sure we do it properly this time."

--

It was three weeks after the tournament and things were changing greatly in Hilary's life, she and Tia were living together in her family home. She was hounded by the press a lot which meant that she and Kai had not spent as much time together as they had before, add to that the fact that the Blitzkrieg Boys had to go to Russia for a while.

Mariah and Ray were happily ensconced in one of the local hotels waiting for the media to tone down the attention they were receiving. Lee had found himself an apartment and he and Ray were working together happily at the gym. The young couple were planning on having a small private wedding ceremony as soon as the press forgot about them.

Millie and Max were in America, they had promised to return to Japan for Mariah and Rays wedding but until then they were working with Max's mum helping to develop new technology and finding ways to double check on cheating in the games. It had become a cause very close to their hearts!

Kenny had surprised everyone by taking on a job writing for a sports magazine, he gave out tips and hints to improve a bladers game but what always made Hilary laugh was the way he always ended his column by quoting her. He was always reminding people that if your having trouble with a new beyblade or a newly developed beyblade that you had to go back to the basics!

Still upset by his defeat but unwilling to show it Tyson was back at the dojo training like never before. He was beginning to worry his brother and grandfather a little with his constant work. Hiro had mentioned it to Hilary and she made it a point to visit him at least once every other day to distract him and make sure he had some free time

In Russia Kai had to sort out a few things to do with Hiwatari enterprises, he still owned the business despite his grandfathers release. After all not many people actually knew about Voltaire Hiwatari's release, it had been kept a closely guarded secret. Of course back in their hometown the Blitzkrieg Boys discovered that there were huge celebrations around their victory, they were constantly followed buy paparazzi and invited to do countless interviews for TV and magazines. They were doing one such interview when Kai surprised everyone.

"So" the interviewer turned away from Tala, Ian, Spencer and Bryan towards the least talkative member of the group "Kai"

"Hn" Kai rolled his eyes, once upon a time interviewer wouldn't even bother to look at him never mind ask him questions. Now that he was dating Hilary it was as if they expected him to start jumping on his chair proclaiming his undying love for her. He was no Tom Cruise and everyone knew it.

For one thing he was a hell of a lot taller!

"We have all been reading about your relationship with Hilary your old coach, now one of the key members of the team behind the championships. We all saw that sensational kiss"

Kai sighed feeling annoyed, he knew all this, they knew all this, the whole world knew all this why were they bothering to say it all over again?

And yes the kiss was sensational, how did they know that? He smirked as he thought about Hilary whom he knew would be at home watching this.

"Well everyone's dying to know about it, can you give us a few little details?"

Normally Kai would just shake his head and give another non-committal grunt but the other day after a long (and very expensive) phone call he and Hilary had decided that the best way to shut everyone up was to answer a very few questions. They had been going on at them for over three weeks now and it was driving them both crazy!

"Fine" Kai said shortly surprising not only his team but also the interviewer

"Really?" the interviewer looked thrilled as she leaned forward

"I'll answer but if I think a questions inappropriate I won't answer"

"Fine! A -absolutely fine!" the interviewer was stumbling over her words as she tried to think of something to say. "Right, so….um how has the general public taken the relationship? M-most importantly how has your fan club taken it?"

"Very well!" Kai smirked "In fact people seem to like it. We were a bit concerned but Hilary says she's had very little hate mail. And the stuff she did receive was pretty tame"

"Hate mail? Sounds rough"

"It was"

"So when did you actually first get together? We all saw the kiss but it looked to me as though maybe something had happened before that?"

"We got together just over two weeks before the kiss"

"And you kept it secret because?"

"We thought it would be easier to wait till afterwards, we had a lot of problems after Ray and Mariah's relationship came out and Hilary didn't want too much attention" he wondered if people could tell that these answer were carefully scripted.

"Does that mean that you and Hilary were engaging in similar night time…."

"No" Kai lied giving the woman a dark look

"Very well…. I didn't mean to offend you but…. if I may ask another question?" The interviewer pleaded

"Very well"

"Just the question on everyone's lips, is this it? Have you found the one? Your soul mate? The person you will be with forever?"

The rest of his team expected Kai to sneer and ignore the question but instead Kai looked directly at the camera

"Yes"

--

Watching the TV at home Hilary had been watching the interview with Mariah and Tia, she had her head between her knees and was drying her hair vigorously with a towel when she heard it…..

"_Just the question on everyone's lips, is this it, have you found the one? Your soul mate? The person you will be with forever?"_

Hilary ignored the TV she didn't except to hear an answer for this.

"_Yes"_

"WHAT?" not quite believing her ears Hilary threw her head back her wet hair creating a small shower of water droplets falling down her back.

"OH MY GOD!" Mariah yelled jumping up and pointing at the screen, the crowd watching the interview were going crazy and the group watching with Hilary had a similar reaction

Hilary sat there stunned, Kai had returned to his regular sitting position, arms crossed, one leg folded over the other and his eyes half closed. Had he really just said that? On live international TV? Oh she was going to kill him!

He still couldn't tell her he loved her, he still hadn't found a way to say those three little words but he was willing to announce on live TV that she was the one. Where the hell had she put her leg waxing kit??

--

"Hello Tatibana residence, Tia Davis speaking….who is it?"

"Is Hilary there?" Kai asked bluntly

"Ah Kai" Tia grinned and sat down on the couch, "nice to hear from you, I'm fine thanks for asking."

"Hi Tia" Kai responded apologetically "I just really need to talk to Hilary"

"About your little TV appearance?" Tia questioned teasingly

"She was watching then?"

"Oh yes, she didn't seem too pleased actually"

"Yeah" Kai sighed and shook his head "I realised afterwards that it was a stupid thing to say but I had a meeting to get to straight after the interview so I didn't get a chance to apologise. Is she really angry?"

"No" Tia also sighed "It was sort of sweet I guess… If it was me I'd have been thrilled but…. it's just tricky! You know what Hilary's like"

"Yeah" Kai nodded "Look will she have her mobile on her?"

"I doubt it she's at Tyson's though, they're babysitting for Robin."

"Oh Right" for a split second Tia thought she heard a little jealousy in Kai's voice, but she shook the feeling off Kai and Hilary were too strong for that!

"Shall I tell her you called?"

"No….thanks anyway." And with that Kai hung up, he really wished he wasn't Russia right now. He tried to convince himself that he wasn't jealous. He knew that Hilary and Tyson were friends, but she had been spending a lot more time with Tyson recently and perhaps with him being so far away…. No. He and Hilary had been through too much and had shared so much. Hilary would never cheat on him…especially not with Tyson.

Would she?

--

Tyson tackled Hilary to the couch holding her still and staring down into her beautiful eyes, as always when he was around an attractive woman he felt a jolt go through him.

"I know you want it" he whispered seductively

"Tyson we shouldn't" Hilary gasped biting her lip and trying not to look at the handsome bluenette now straddling her waist. Hilary had always been aware of Tyson's looks, sure he wasn't quite Kai standard but he was definitely close

"Yes we should!" he hissed moving down and forcing her lips open

"Tyson….mmmm" Hilary moaned with pleasure

"Told you" Tyson crowed triumphantly pulling back and looking down at her "Come on Arelam won't be that mad that we ate her ice cream!"

"You forced me" Hilary argued slightly incoherently because the spoonful of ice cream that Tyson had shoved in her mouth was impeding her speaking abilities. Licking her lips she sat up and pushing him off her, glaring at him she grabbed the spoon from her mouth. "I'll tell them you made me do it" she picked up the ice cream tub and dug in.

"Like I said, you know you wanted it" Tyson laughed also digging his spoon into the tub

"Hey that's mine" Hilary hit at his spoon with her own

"I got the ice cram out" Tyson argued striking back at her spoon with his

"Oh yeah?" Hilary hit at him again "en guarde!" they performed a small fencing match with their spoons before both collapsing on the couch giggling together.

"Tell you what I'll take the blame for the ice cream if we get to do whatever I want tonight!"

"You mean beyblade on the play station?" Hilary asked giving him a derogatory look

"Well your useless in the real dish…lets see if your just as bad in the virtual reality world…Argh" Tyson ducked just in time as the spoon hit the wall just behind where his head had been

"Sorry! You were saying?" Hilary asked dangerously

Ok people I expect lots of reviews because these are the final few chapters and I really want a response! Hope you all enjoyed but I'm afraid that the story will end on a dark note!

Please R&R


	46. Unsuspecting

The penultimate chapter, hope you all enjoy! BTW there **will** be a sequel I have such great ideas for one!

But I just thought I ought to mention that I have another couple of stories out there so don't get confused my sequel will be obvious when it comes out!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Escorting Brady down the hallway Boris began to feel annoyed, these days his job seemed to involve babysitting more than anything else. He was getting fed up with just waiting around, he wanted to do something, anything other than just wait. As they got closer to their destination both men could hear an argument in progress, when they finally reached the door they needed to get to and knocked there was no response. The two men inside were arguing so loudly they couldn't hear the knocking, shrugging helplessly Boris opened the door and pushed Brady in ahead of him.

"And I tell you we've waited too long" Voltaire snapped angrily at Hortaio, the two men were standing facing each other their faces red from yelling

"I don't know what you're on about! There is plenty of time, and we needed to prepare for this..."

"We should have done this weeks ago"

"Well it's happening in half an hour is that soon enough for you?"

"Evidently not or..." Voltaire had finally noticed the new additions to the room "Ah Boris you brought Brady"

"As per your request." Boris nodded

"You want a drink Boris?" Horatio asked indicating the tray of drinks he had available

"No thank you"

"Father whats going on?" confused by the fighting he had just witnessed Brady looked around "why am I here?"

Horatio looked his son up and down before responding, Brady was looking haggard he was pretty sure that he wasn't sleeping well. Squashing down any paternal feelings that made him want to ask after his sons welfare Horatio just gave his son a cold look. "Brady by now you know what we plan to do and why. You will help us"

"I'd rather die" Brady told them honestly

"Yes, but would your son be as willin..."

"Leave him out of this" Brady commanded getting angry "He doesn't deserve to be a part of this and if you ever hurt him, I'll kill you."

"We won't hurt him" Horatio promised "If you help us, it's a simple trade. You help us and we make sure your family is safe"

"But we remain prisoners right? I mean come on, you can't risk us going out there and ruining everything for you by letting us free."

"No thats true, but you will have relative freedom in the house as long as your wife and youn learn not to talk about things that aren't important"

"What do you mean?" Brady enquired curiously

"I mean when Hilary arrives here we need to give her as normal a life as possible, she may not remember the outside world but she needs company. And you can make sure we aren't hurting her too badly, in a way you'll be helping her"

"Until you two have your way and make her into what you need."

"Even then you and your wife could be a comfort to her, in a way you'll be helping her more than you ever could if you escaped"

"I need to think about it" Brady muttered

"Of course" Voltaire nodded "You talk it over with the wife, but be quick Hilary will be arriving here tonight."

--

It was quite late in the evening and Hilary and Tyson were still on the play station beyblading against each other, Hilary usually sucked at this game but tonight for some reason Tyson wasn't concentrating, finally after Hilary had won for the third time she threw her controller down

"Tyson why did you want to baby-sit with me? I mean I know you have trouble with Robin but what's the real reason?" Hilary sat back on the sofa and gave him a speculative look

"No reason" He shrugged not looking directly at her

"Liar"

"Ok, so maybe I just wanted to spend some extra time with you," Tyson sank back on the couch and dropped his controller "You've been so busy recently, at the competition you were spending so much time with the Blitzkrieg boys not that I in any way hold that against you, but these days you'll studying or you'll be with Tia, Mariah or on the phone with Millie and now you're dating Kai…" he trailed off looking at his feet feeling a little stupid and unsure what to say next.

"I'm still a blade breaker Ty" Hilary smiled as his head snapped up "I know I'm not a blader but I'm still part of **your **team. I'm a Blade Breaker and I always will be."

"Really?"

"Ty, you're my best friend"

"I am?"

Hilary laughed "yes, don't tell Mariah because she is my best 'girl' friend. But Tyson you will always be my best friend. I love you"

"Better not let Kai hear you say that" he grinned "and you better not tell him I said this but I love you too!"

"You're like a brother to me, and don't tell my other brothers but you're my favourite. Of course I know that saying you're like my brother is a bit weird as we kissed but... well ...you know what I mean" she laughed blushing a little

"Yeah I do. You're like the sister I always wanted" Tyson explained "I just sometimes feel like I'm losing you"

"Tyson, Tyson, Tyson, haven't you learned anything about me? Even when you didn't want me around, even when you hated me I stayed! Now you actually like me you're never going to get rid of me, and that's a promise."

"Well I'm glad to hear it" Tyson nodded happily "But I never hated you….severely disliked but never hated!"

They smiled at each other looking slightly dopey as they sat there grinning.

"So…" Hilary broke the silence "are you are going to try to beat me this time?" She picked up the controller and grinned

"Oh yeah you are going d…" Tyson was cut off when he heard a crash come from Robins room.

They glanced at each other before jumping up and running into the bedroom. They could hear crying as they ran and arrived just in time to see someone holding a struggling Robin run from the window.

"Go round the front" Tyson yelled as he jumped through the window following the kidnapper "Cut him off"

Hilary sped to the front door at breakneck speed colliding with a figure on her way, she ran into the person with such force that she fell back onto her ass with a thud.

"Hilary?" the figure looked down at her surprised "what's going on?"

"Arelam Hiro!" Hilary gasped looking up at the couple that had just got back, she opened her mouth to say more when she heard a car start out front "shit" jumping to her feet again she ran to the door calling over her shoulder "Someone's got Robin!"

"Arelam call the police" Hiro said before running after Hilary

Hiro and Hilary ran through the house and out the front as quickly as possible but by the time they got to the front gate the car that had Robin in was disappearing down the road.

"No" Hiro shook his head staring off into the distance "No"

Hilary was about to say something to him when suddenly a car pulled up in front of them

"Get in!" Tyson yelled and Hilary and Hiro both jumped into the car.

--

They followed the other car through the darkened streets not chasing but being careful not to lose sight of the kidnappers car. Sitting upfront with Tyson Hiro had wanted to give chase at high speed but behind them Hilary had disagreed calmly stating that the last thing they wanted was a crash that could hurt Hiro's son.

"Besides it's hard to handle a car at high speeds. But I don't understand all this, it makes no sense" Hilary whispered

"What?" Hiro asked looking over at her "What makes no sense?"

"Why would anyone want Robin? He's not that important to anyone but us… they want something from us."

"Like what?" Tyson asked looking briefly over his shoulder at Hilary in the back seat

"I don't know, how could I know? They didn't exactly stick around for coffee and a chat! I think this has something to do with Boris."

"Where are we going anyway?" Hiro asked looking around "I don't recognise this place"

"I do" Hilary muttered looking around "I think I've been here before"

"We have" Tyson confirmed nodding "this is where chief made us train when we were being chased by various bad guys. You almost fell off the cliff here Hils"

"Oh yeah" Hilary nodded "that was superhero Kai rescue number 2 I think,"

"Yeah" Tyson agreed "because you said three was when he helped us in the team psykick head quarters"

"Oh yeah… hey we're stopping" Hilary stated looking around

"And we're actually at the cliffs" nervous as he was Tyson tried not to let his voice sound afraid "I kind of wish Kai and the others were here"

"You and me both" Tyson muttered "it usually works out ok when we are all together."

--

The three of them got out of the car to discover two men (at least that what Hilary described them as when she hissed to Tyson, he responded by saying that they could be men or very flat chested girls) dressed entirely in black waiting for them, the men were wearing masks carefully hiding their faces from view. One of them was holding onto Robin who was by now whimpering quietly, the other held a gun and it was pointing right at them.

The person who held Robin took a step forward "Hello Tyson, Hiro, Hilary"

The three of them exchanged glances, they knew that voice, so sneering, so cold.

"Hello Lando" Hilary spoke calmly as she looked the other man up and down "and Kendall right?"

"Very perceptive" the masked figure holding the gun stepped forward too "brains and beauty"

"Don't you dare fucking compliment me" Hilary snapped angrily "what's going on here?"

"Well it's rather simple really. You are still wanted -God knows why- by your grandfather and Kai's we are meant to deliver you to him"

"And that's why you took Robin?" Hiro asked in disbelief "To get to Hilary?"

"Pretty much" Kendall nodded "you see Hilary isn't afraid to fight nor are her friends but take someone harmless and things get easier. If someone else had been in the car you would have been a little more aggressive in following us but as it was someone utterly incapable of defending themselves you were slow and followed us right to where we wanted you"

"You're sick" Tyson yelled "You can't really think this will work!"

"But it already has" Kendall shrugged off the remark "you're here. And Hilary is already deciding to walk over here to us so that your nephew can go free, then she can escape later."

Hilary was stunned by this, that was exactly what she had been thinking. Save Robin for now and get away from these bozos later.

"Uh-uh" Hiro shook his head "you aren't having Hilary and you will return my son. I sent a quick text to my wife when we stopped she'll be sending the police here any second now. You won't get away with this" Hiro was distracted by a noise behind him, turning he surveyed the dark shadows where any number of ambushers could hide "Is there someone else here?"

"No, and we can get away with anything" and with that Kendall pointed the gun at Tyson, he fired

"Fuck!" Tyson yelled as the bullet went into his leg

"TYSON" Hilary screamed watching the bloodstain spreading across his trouser leg

"I'm fine" Tyson hissed waving her away and resting his weight on the opposite leg as he faced Kendall "I'm gonna kill you for that"

"No…I'm gonna kill you. Here and now. Unless Hilary walks over here and gets in the car with us"

"No" Tyson shook his head "don't you dare Hilary"

"Sorry Ty" Hilary strode forward before either of the Granger brothers could stop her, she walked carefully toward Kendall Lando and Robin.

"NO!" Tyson yelled moving forward aiming for Lando, seeing Tyson's movements Lando took a step back causing Hilary to panic as she saw him heading for the edge

"Don't move" Hilary yelled as she saw Lando start to step back again, she quickly moved closer

"Dude your too close" Tyson called out trying to move forward again

"They're right Lando! Look out!" Kendall bellowed as his captain stepped back, he was too close to the edge and as soon as Lando misreading everyone's actions towards him moved away from Tyson and Hilary. At the edge he started to lose his balance. With Robin struggling in his arms Lando didn't stand a chance, the stones near the edge weren't steady and eyes filled with fear he dropped down taking Robin with him.

"NO!" yelling Hilary ran forward and jumped over the edge after the two of them, she managed to grab Robin's arm with one hand and with the other she managed to grasp hold of the cliff edge. She could see Lando's descent and while it wasn't pleasant to hear him yelling it was even worse to hear the silence afterwards

"Robin!! Hilary!!" as best he could Tyson ran to the edge, Hiro ran forward he grabbed Kendall who had been distracted by fall knocking the gun from his hand and the two of them were soon rolling around on the grass kicking and hitting.

Throwing himself flat in the ground Tyson grabbed Hilary's wrist and tried to pull her up but she was too heavy, "Tyson!" Hilary yelled "I'm slipping!"

"No, stay there hold on! Hiro will be able to help in a second." Tyson looked over his shoulder, his brother was still fighting and his leg was still bleeding heavily.

"Tyson I can't I'm too tired" Hilary felt exhausted her whole body seemed to be in agony any adrenaline she had from earlier was gone and she just hung there feeling useless. Anger filled her as she tried to pull Robin closer, the poor child was crying out and she was sure that she would break his arm if they stayed like that much longer. The fact that Robin wouldn't stop kicking his legs around in the air didn't help either as it made it more of a struggle to hold onto him.

"Hilary hold on!!"

Looking around Hilary was struck by an idea "Tyson! I think I can swing Robin up, move to the left a little"

"No" Tyson shook his head furiously "If you do that you might fall!"

"Tyson I have three choices One, I let go of him and manage to save myself or two, I swing him up saving him and maybe manage to hold on giving me more of a chance to save myself"

Still unsure Tyson yelled down "What's choice number three?"

"We both stay like this and die in about thirty seconds when my strength gives out."

Tyson stood tears in his eyes, he didn't want to lose either of them, if they went with option two he might be able to save them both! "Swing him up!"

Biting her lip in concentration Hilary nodded and using the last of her strength she swung Robin once, twice and then three times. The little boy went flying up into Tyson's awaiting arms, Tyson caught his nephew and quickly turned around laying the crying boy safely behind him, then just as quickly he turned back.

Hilary was almost falling he could see her fingers letting go.

"NO" Tyson jumped forward and made a grab for Hilary's hand only to have it start to slip easily from his grasp,

"It's not your fault Ty" Hilary whispered as their fingers lost their grip and she started to fall.

"NO!!" Tyson threw himself a further forward but she was out of reach, he could hear her scream as she began her descent, he could see the fear in her eyes as she dropped quickly through the air. Tyson's own eyes filled with tears, he didn't see her hit the water but he heard the splash and he heard the echoing silence following it.

Wiping away his tears he tried to search the water for a glimpse of the fallen girl, suddenly he caught sight of a flash of red jacket, he decided something in that second, he decided to jump.

Just as Tyson was about to launch himself over the edge of the cliff a strong hand grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Don't Tyson!" Tyson turned and tried to push the hand away, Hiro refused to let go "there's nothing we can do, we need to get Robin to hospital" On the ground Robin lay in a tight ball quietly weeping quietly.

"Let me go damnnit, I let go of her!" he fought hard but Hiro was the stronger of the two and he wasn't about to let Tyson throw himself into the water. Tyson began to sob as he fought against Hiro, the bluenette made no show of disgust at his younger brothers display of emotion he simply placed his arms around the young boy and hugged him.

"I can't let my brother kill himself" Hiro whispered, he felt selfish not letting Tyson go after the girl they both loved like a sister but he just couldn't live with himself if he had to face their father and tell him what had happened.

The sirens behind them told him that the emergency services were finally arriving but he was pretty sure it was too little too late

* * *

God I'm cruel!

Look out for the final chapter!

Please R&R


	47. Painful endings

OK here is the final chapter, sorry that I haven't replied to anyone but I'm crazy busy!

Well that last chapter was a real cliffhanger (literally!) but here's the finale.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

In Russia the Blitzkrieg Boys were staying with Kai in his family mansion (yes I'm sticking to the traditional Kai has a mansion thing). Standing in his large house Kai pondered on how lonely he had felt there, he had never told anyone about this, not even Hilary or Tala the two people he was closest to. Tala and the rest of the team lived in Russia but it was right across the country so Kai couldn't just drop by whenever he felt like it and he wouldn't want to anyway. That would mean admitting he needed them, of course he did need them but he didn't like telling them that.

Instead of admitting he was lonely he would keep busy making business his priority, but he had usually tried to visit his friends in Japan, America and China as often as possible.

"Kai come back to us?" Bryan stood in front of his friend "Have you heard a word we were saying?"

"Yellow" Kai whispered looking around his black and white minimalist kitchen and smiling

"What?" Tala stared at him surprised "What the hell are you on about Kai?"

"I was just thinking about painting the kitchen yellow"

"Ok Kai just because you and Hils are all loved up and happy now are you honestly telling me you're gonna paint your kitchen yellow?" Spencer asked disbelievingly

"Yep" Kai grinned, before Hilary the grin was rarely seen but it was becoming a more frequent expression on him these days. "Lets get out of here for a while, we ought to get that thing done today"

The others nodded, they all knew what he meant 'that thing' and they all left the house dressed in dark clothing feeling like they were about to visit a cemetery.

Lying forgotten on the counter in the kitchen Kai's cell phone began to ring.

--

It was early morning and a tired and grief-stricken Tyson sat still wearing yesterdays clothes in a police station reception waiting for some news. He had been here for over eight hours now and he had no intention of leaving until someone told him something.

"Tyson?"

"Ray." Tyson stood up to find Ray Mariah and Lee standing in front of him

"Mr D called…" Mariah whispered "He….he said there was an accident? He said Hilary was hurt…."

"What happened Ty?" Ray asked taking in Tyson's appearance "you look a mess"

"I let her go" his voice choked up Tyson muttered his response, tears were gathering in his eyes "she was hanging and I couldn't…, I couldn't hold on, she…., she slipped" finally breaking down Tyson began to cry "they say they can't find her, they looked all night but couldn't find her."

Leaving Mariah's side Ray walked forward and embraced his friend "It's not your fault Ty" he whispered but Tyson thrust him away with an agonised yell.

"That's just it" he brushed away his tears "it is my fault."

--

"What's happened?" Horatio listened with a face filled with compassion as he listened to his grandson on the phone. "She fell?" he stood angry and upset

Smiling Voltaire looked at him, curiously he was mouthing 'who fell?' he was ignored by his friend who just turned away to concentrate on the phone call

"Of course….call me the minute you know, I'm on my way" Horatio hung up frowning and made his way to his coat stand and put on his coat

"Is everything alright?" Voltaire asked

"Hilary! She's as good as dead" Horatio turned to smile at his friend "apparently she fell from a cliff edge,"

"Any sign of a body?" Voltaire asked "She could still be OK if they don't find the body. Did they...?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure they'll find it soon. It's there to be found. I have to go. Make sure you call Boris, check that everything is in place!"

Voltaire nodded watching his friend walk away

--

Looking down at the bed on which Robin slept Hiro stood contemplating how close he had come to losing his son. As it was the boy had a fractured arm, silently Hiro thanked god for Hilary and at the same time prayed for her safety.

"Hiro?" Mr Dickenson stood in the doorway, his ever present smile was long gone but the round cheeked older mans presence still seemed to comfort Hiro and perk up his mood. "How is he?"

"A fractured arm and a few bumps and bruises but he'll be fine"

"Where's Arelam?"

"She went to get coffee, we're both pretty tired but she's determined to stay awake till we know what happened to Hilary" Hiro half smiled "Any news on that one?"

"They're still searching, now that it's lighter they have more hope of finding her b…" Mr Dickenson trailed off realising what he had been about to say

"They'll find her" Hiro whispered "Mr Dickenson, Tyson's still at the police station could you…."

"I'm on my way there now."

"Thanks"

"You're grandfather is on his way home as we speak, as is your father. Ray Lee and Mariah are at the station with Tyson I called Judy Tate and Max knows now, he's probably on his way"

"Are they all OK?"

"They're taking it as well as can be expected. I knew they would find it hard, unfortunately we haven't managed to get hold of Kai yet" Mr Dickenson shook his head "of course I should probably try talk to Tala first, have someone to support him. This could kill Kai."

"Yeah" Hiro nodded understandingly "but he needs to know sooner rather than later" he pulled out his mobile phone and handed it over to his boss. "you can't use this in here but Tala's new number is on there. Call him if you can't get Kai again."

--

The Blitzkrieg Boys had gone back to a place they hadn't seen in many years. Kai had found the deed of ownership to the Abbey and they had all decided to go see it one last time in an effort to get some closure.

"Wow this place is a mess" Spencer breathed out as he looked around

"Well it's been pretty much deserted for years" Bryan said shrugging "What you going to do with it?"

"Haven't decided yet" Kai responded, it was true in a way. Yes he had decided to get rid of it, knock it down but after that…. Well he wasn't too sure. Would he build something new? Would he sell it off? Was he even planning to stay in Russia? Would Hilary move to Russia? Sure she could speak the language but she couldn't write in it and if she wanted to be a doctor she needed to read and write the language.

"Uh….Kai?"

"Sorry what?" Shaking his head Kai looked over at Tala "Did you say something?"

"I just said it would be good place to build something new" Tala repeated himself "It could be healing for many of the people who suffered here to see something new go up."

"Maybe" Looking around again Kai frowned "But I'm not even sure what's happening"

"You mean you might be moving to Japan to be with your girlfriend" Ian teased while all the others laughed

Just then Tala's phone rang, they all gave him an annoyed look as they had agreed to turn off their phones. Tala gave them a sheepish smile pulling out his mobile he was about to reject the call when he saw that it was Hiro. Frowning he hit answer and lifted the phone to his ear

"Hello?"

"_Tala my boy_"

"Hey Mr D, look unless this is important can it…." Tala trailed off.

The rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys watched as Tala's face showed a look of horror, finally Tala closed his eyes and nodded.

"What's going on?" Kai asked

Tala looked over at his friend his face filled with pity "I'll hand you over" he whispered in a hoarse voice "Kai" he held out the phone.

Taking the phone Kai said a quick "what is it?" unlike Tala as Mr Dickenson explained the situation Kai's face became less expressive. His mouth set in a grim line and his jaw tightened but not one emotion was visible on his face. Finally Mr Dickenson finished telling his tale and not hearing anything from Kai asked

_"Kai? Are you OK?"_

"I'm on my way" and with that Kai hung up the phone and headed for his car.

--

Mr Dickenson had joined Tyson Ray Lee and Mariah in the station as they waited for news, finally someone they recognised arrived

"Mac!" Tyson jumped up recognising one of Hilary's favourite cousins

"Tyson?" Mac screwed up his face trying to remember the other names of the people in front of him, they all looked familiar "Tyson and Mariah right?"

"Yeah" Mariah nodded "have you heard anything?"

"I'm sorry no" Mac shook his head sorrowfully "Hilary's parents got the first flight they could but they were in Helsinki and had some trouble"

"Kai's on his way too, we finally managed to get hold of him a few hours ago" Tyson told him

"How's he taken it?"

"It's hard to tell with Kai" Tyson admitted "but he's on his way. He loves her..."

"Right" Mac nodded and was about to say more when a couple both dressed in suits and with the signature Tatibana brown hair ran in. The man had ruby eyes while the woman had hazel, but the woman looked so like Hilary it was impossible to mistake who she was.

"Hello" the couple ran right past the group not really noticing them as they made there way to the front desk "We're Hilary Tatibana's parents, Martin and Abi Tatibana we were told…." the man's voice broke as he spoke

"I'll have someone come talk to you" the police woman behind the desk said gently "I believe that group is also waiting for news"

The couple turned and noticed the people behind them,

"Mackenzie!" the Mrs Tatibana ran forward and hugged her nephew

"Hey Auntie Abi, Uncle Martin" Mac embraced the couple then turning back to the group he introduced them "this Tyson and Mariah."

"Hello" Mr. Tatibana nodded and then looked enquiringly at the other three

"I'm Mr. Dickenson, this Ray and Lee."

"Mr. and Mrs. Tatibana?" a voice enquired, the group turned to find an officer standing behind them

"That's us" Martin spoke up

"If you'd like to just come this way" the officer indicated down the hallway but Mrs. Tatibana shook her head

"No"

"Abi lets just go with…." Mr Tatibana tried to placate his wife but she shook her head

"no, I know that look, it's the look where they have bad news and want to take you out of the way to tell you about it" Abi Tatibana threw an angry look at the officer facing her "just tell me now!"

"That's not always the case" her husband told her looking at the man behind him for support but the officer avoided his gaze staring at the floor "What's happened?"

"We found a body, from the photos we have been given we're pretty sure it's your daughter we're going to need you to come for an official ID but….I'm so very sorry"

--

Lee and Ray waited at the airport looking very sombre, Max's flight had touched down a few minutes ago and Kai's plane would soon be following.

"Thanks for being here" Ray muttered to Lee, I know you'd prefer to be with Mariah

"Nah" Lee shook his head "she wanted Tia there more than me, besides it you can't help your best friend through something like this then you're not a very good friend"

"Thanks." Ray smiled a little and then was hit by another crushing thought "How do I tell them? How do I greet Max and Kai and tell them? I can't do it"

"Well you don't need to with one of them" Lee pointed to where a little distance away Max and Millie stood looking over at them. Max just stood there reading from Ray's face what the news was. His case fell from his hand and he stared at the two of them.

"Oh god" Ray heard Millie say as she slipped her arm around Max, tears fell from Max's eyes and he turned around to hug his girlfriend.

Ray and Lee walked over to them "They found her body a few hours ago, her parents have seen it" Ray told them "I'm really…. I wish I could say something"

Pulling away from Millie Max shook his head "No, you don't need to I just wish I'd said something more appropriate last time I saw her. I just said 'see ya!' that's the last thing I ever said to her."

"Kai'll be here in a minute" Lee said tentatively "you guys could head to Tyson's while we wait for him"

"No" Max dried his tears and shook his head again "we can stay"

"Thanks" Ray nodded to his friend "I'd say the more the merrier but…. Bad joke sorry."

"Don't be" Max shook his head "Hilary loved to laugh, and maybe one day we'll feel like laughing again"

--

Bleary eyed and with a body tired from travel Tala led the way into the greeting area, he was expecting Mr Dickenson to have sent a car or something but when he saw the tearstained little group in front of him he froze. Realisation of what was about to happen hit him and he turned to watch Kai as he too looked at the people waiting for them.

Kai said nothing, he didn't react, he just walked past the group and out of the airport. Once outside he jumped into the nearest taxi commanding "The hospital, fast!"

--

Somehow Kai knew where he needed to go, he knew that Hilary's body would be kept in the morgue under the hospital until it was sent away for a proper autopsy. He couldn't allow this to be happening, he'd get to the hospital and it would all be a mistake, she just **couldn't** be dead.

At the hospital he was directed where he needed to go and on his way to the morgue he bumped into a couple of familiar faces. Of course this time they were anything but cheerful.

"Kai" Mac nodded respectfully

"Is she….?" he couldn't ask he looked down trying to stop the lump in his throat from choking him "Is she really...?"

"Yes" Shane nodded sadly "She's dead."

"Until I see a body I don't believe anything" Kai hissed looking them in the eyes

"Well you better come then" Mac shrugged "they found her body a little while ago, it's not a nice sight but they haven't done a post mortem yet. The family have all seen her. Friends aren't usually allowed in but if you can come to see her now."

"That's why I'm here" Kai told them determined to go in find out they were wrong and make everyone see that this was all a mistake. She just couldn't be dead.

To his left Shane nodded "We'll take you to her."

"It can't be her….you must be…" Kai's voice broke he looked at the impassive faces in front of him

"We'll take you to her" Shane repeated before turning and leading the way.

--

At the room Mac made Kai to go in alone, he knew that the boy needed to see this but Mac couldn't face it again. He couldn't look down on his young cousins face.

He now understood why people believed a soul left your body when you died because looking down at that cold dead face he had been appalled at how different she looked. She was almost grey and her mouth looked so different not quirked up into an ever-present smile.

No Mac could not look at her again. Shane stood beside his cousin one hand on his shoulder trying to help keep some semblance of composure on both his cousin and himself.

--

The door closed behind him and Kai looked around the room. It was cold and clinical, not a place that he would ever be able to associate with Hilary, he was warm and unorthodox. The bed at the end of the room had a body on it, he could see brown hair and white skin but the room was dim, he couldn't see for sure from here. His feet feeling heavier with every step Kai walked slowly over to the bed.

It was her

She was lying on a cold metal table dressed in a long sleeved hospital gown of sorts and covered with an ugly green blanket. She was paler than ever before and her face dull and greyish was covered with cuts and bruises.

Kai felt tears in his eyes as he looked down at her, his breath came in short sharp gasps.

"Hilary?" he placed his hand on her cheek, she was stone cold.

It was then that it hit him, he had lost her.

Forever.

--

Standing outside the room Mac heard a cry of pain unlike he had ever heard before, it brought tears to his eyes as he listened to the sobs that overtook the normally calm beyblader.

Unable to stand the noises coming from the room Mac ran.

Shane had also been shocked by the intensity of the howling and worried that his cousin's boyfriend would hurt himself and knowing that Hilary would not want that to happen he went in.

He stopped in the doorway unsure of whether or not he felt disgusted or understanding of what he was seeing.

Grief-stricken, and with a sorrow like he had never felt before Kai had gathered up Hilary's body into his arms, he embraced her kissing her forehead and rocking her gently as he cried over her. Finally with the tears abated and feeling slightly calmer he lay the unresponsive body back down. Still not knowing he was being watched Kai covered her up pulling the blanket over her shoulders like he was tucking her in for a nights sleep.

Thoughtfully Kai brushed Hilary's soft hair off her face and then leaning down placed another kiss on her forehead. He looked down at her face trying to imagine for a moment that he was just waiting for her to wake up. Trying to imagine that they had just spent another night together and he was watching her sleep.

"I love you so much" he whispered tears falling from his eyes and down onto her cheeks. "I love you. How come I can say it now and I couldn't before?"

"Because now is all you have" Shane told him "You've got nothing left to lose!"

Startled Kai looked up as he listened to the wise words but he was not in the least bit ashamed or embarrassed by his actions, "I loved her so much"

"So did I, in a different way of course but…. Life will never make any sense ever again"

Kai bowed his head over the body again before looking up anger flashing in his eyes "Yes it will. Life will make sense when I make the men that killed her pay."

"You mean those bladers? One of them is thought to be dead or he's on the run" Shane told him thinking of Lando whose body had not yet been found "the other one was bailed out of jail before we even knew he'd gotten there, no one knows where he is!"

"No" Kai shook his head "Not them, I didn't mean them, if I meet them I will kill them but I meant the men that employed them."

"You know who it was?" Shane's voice took a different more alert tone

"Yes"

"Then I warn you, don't look for vengeance" Shane warned

Curious by the sudden change Kai frowned before saying with utter disbelief "You know who it was as well" Kai looked up at the man in front of him entirely shocked "You know that your grandfather…."

"I know nothing exactly" Shane cut in shaking his head sadly "but I know what I suspect. I also know death was never on their agenda, that was a mistake."

"How can you let him get away with it?" Kai snapped angrily before looking back at Hilary's lifeless face

"Because he has too much power, none of us dare fight him. We are like slaves, he controls us"

"Slaves can revolt, they've done it in the past."

"But history tells us they fail more than they succeed. There is too much at stake. Just do yourself a favour and leave it alone" Shane opened the door to go but was stopped as Kai gave a low chuckle

"I won't leave it alone"

Shane didn't turn back but he stopped for a moment before calmly saying "Then you will lose everything."

"You don't get it do you?" Kai asked looking at the back of Shane's head "I can't lose everything. I already have"

* * *

Finally finished, that was probably not what you were all expecting, but please keep your eyes open for the sequel entitled **'Things have changed' **

R&R


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